2021 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – If you’re scared of change, avert your eyes!
Here is the newest edition of the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for Week 4 of the 2021 season! An exciting weekend of racing meant a plethora of changes, as that just proves that the season is about to hit another gear.
Regional Championships Saturday is set for November 13!
East Region
There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the East Region.
MIT and Bates remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Colby No. 4 WPI and No. 5 Tufts. That doesn’t mean that the East Region wasn’t busy racing. The Cambridge-based Engineers scored a major win at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic, while the Bobcats and Mules went head-to-head at the Maine State Meet with the former coming through with a 12-point victory thanks to a 19-second spread between its first and fifth runner.
Great Lakes Region
There were a few changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Great Lakes Region.
John Carroll and Otterbein remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, but Case Western Reserve jumped two spots from No. 5 to No. 3, which pushed Calvin and DePauw down to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Spartans made noise at the Mike Woods Invitational, finishing right behind Otterbein in the team standings thanks to a third-place individual finish by Jack Begley. Calvin and DePauw went head-to-head at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic with the Knights taking eighth and the Tigers finishing two spots behind in tenth.
Metro Region
There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Metro Region.
Haverford and Rowan remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 TCNJ, No. 4 Ramapo and No. 5 DeSales. Both the Fords and the Profs cemented their position atop the region with strong efforts at the Paul Short Run this past weekend.
Mid-Atlantic Region
There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Johns Hopkins and Carnegie Mellon remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Dickinson and No. 4 Messiah. Lebanon Valley leapfrogged Elizabethtown into the No. 5 spot (The Blue Jays are now ranked No. 6). The Dutchmen finished third in the Men’s College White 8k at the Paul Short Run this past weekend, led by two athletes in the top-10 individually.
Mideast Region
There were major changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mideast Region.
Williams didn’t compete this past weekend and held steady at No. 1, but RPI jumped three spots from No. 5 to No. 2, right behind the Ephs. Middlebury didn’t budge from No. 3, yet Amherst climbed two spots from No. 6 to No. 4 and Connecticut College dropped from No. 2 to No. 5. Intraregional racing shook up the Mideast Region this week, as RPI, Amherst and Connecticut College all went head-to-head at the Paul Short Run. The Engineers finished a strong runner-up in the Men’s College Brown 8k, while the Mammoths took third and the Camels ended up in sixth place.
Midwest Region
There was one change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region.
Wartburg rolled to victory at the Dan Huston Invitational and held steady at No. 1, while the runner-up from that meet, Washington (Mo.), leapfrogged North Central (Ill.) into the No. 2 spot (The Cardinals are now ranked No. 3). UChicago and Loras remained No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Maroons and the Duhawks went head-to-head at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational this past weekend with the former earning a 40-point win over the latter.
Niagara Region
There were a few changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Niagara Region.
SUNY Geneseo and NYU remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, but Hamilton leapfrogged Rochester (N.Y.) into the No. 3 spot and Ithaca held steady at No. 5. Four of these top-5 teams competed this past weekend at the Mike Woods Invitational, hosted by the Knights. SUNY Geneseo won the team title going away, while Hamilton took runner-up honors out of the region, followed by Ithaca (Rochester finished further down in the standings, but didn’t race a full squad).
North Region
There were some major changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the North Region.
UW-Whitewater remained No. 1 following a dominant effort at the Blugold Invitational, followed by No. 2 UW-La Crosse, No. 3 Carleton, No. 4 UW-Oshkosh and No. 5 St. Olaf. The results of the aforementioned Blugold Invitational shook up the rankings this week, as multiple teams from the region competed. The Eagles were the only team not to visit Eau Claire, Wisconsin, as they chose the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic and finished runner-up. Back to the other meet, though: the Knights took runner-up honors behind the Warhawks; the Titans were third; the Oles ended up fourth. Sixth-ranked UW-Eau Claire finished fifth, followed by eighth-ranked UW-Stout.
South Region
There were a few changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Region.
Emory and Lynchburg remained No. 1 and No. 2, followed by No. 3 Christopher Newport, but Berry and Washington and Lee leapfrogged former No. 4 Rhodes into the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, respectively (The Lynx are now ranked No. 8). Three of these top-5 teams competed at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic: the Eagles finished a strong third behind MIT and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps; the Hornets took seventh place as the second regional team; the Vikings ended up 13th, as the third regional team. The Generals won the Men’s College White 8k at the Paul Short Run this past weekend in their first 8k of the season.
West Region
There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region.
Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps remained No.1 and No. 2, followed by No. 3 UC Santa Cruz, No. 4 George Fox and No. 5 Occidental. While the Sagehens sat idle this past weekend, the Stags and the Banana Slugs went head-to-head at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic. CMS put together a sensational effort, finishing runner-up and beating a number of nationally-ranked programs. UC Santa Cruz held its own, too.
