2021 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 6

NEW ORLEANS – Ah. There are the winds of change.Here is the newest edition of the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for Week 6 of the 2021 season, as released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Nine of the 10 regions saw movement in their top-5s, including several that underwent massive overhauls.

Regional Championships Saturday is set for November 13!

East Region

There was a small change to the order of the top-5 teams in the East Region.

MIT held steady at No. 1, but Tufts leapfrogged Bates into the No. 2 position (Bates is now ranked No. 3), while Brandeis and WPI swapped spots (Brandeis is now No. 4; WPI is now No. 5). Each of those top-5 programs competed at the Connecticut College Invitational this past weekend: the Cambridge-based Engineers finished a clear runner-up; the Jumbos topped the Bobcats for third place (Bates finished fourth); the Judges were a clear seventh, one spot ahead of the Worcester-based Engineers.

Great Lakes Region

There were wholesale changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Great Lakes Region.

Hope leapfrogged Calvin into the No. 1 spot, which slid Calvin down to No. 2. Allegheny (Pa.) and John Carroll swapped spots, which meant the Gators went to No. 3 and the Blue Streaks fell to No. 4. Trine took over the No. 5 spot in front of Case Western Reserve. Both Hope and Calvin raced well at the Augustana Interregional Invitational this past weekend, as the Flying Dutch took fifth – just three points behind a third-place tie between Washington (Mo.) and UChicago – with the Knights one spot behind in sixth. Allegheny (Pa.), John Carroll and Trine all competed at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble this past weekend and finished in that order.

Metro Region

There were a few changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Metro Region.

Haverford and Swarthmore remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, but is now followed by No. 3 Moravian, No. 4 Stockton and No. 5 TCNJ. Three of those top-5 programs competed at the Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle this past weekend: the Fords finished a clear fourth; the Garnet also found a spot in the top-10 at tenth; the Greyhounds were just 10 points behind Swarthmore in 11th place.

Mid-Atlantic Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Johns Hopkins and Dickinson remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Carnegie Mellon and No. 4 Misericordia and No. 5 Susquehanna.Three of those top-5 programs competed at the Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle this past weekend: the Blue Jays won the team title; the Cougars ran to a strong seventh; the Red Devils rested their top-3 runners and finished 12th. The Tartans posted a big win at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble.

Mideast Region

There were some notable changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mideast Region.

Williams remained No. 1, but is now followed by No. 2 Middlebury, No. 3 Amherst, No. 4 Smith and No. 5 RPI. Each of those top-5 programs competed at the Connecticut College Invitational this past weekend: the Ephs won the team title; the Panthers and the Mammoths finished fifth and sixth, respectively, separated by just two points; the Pioneers surprised with a ninth-place finish; the Engineers ended up right outside the top-10 in 11th.

Midwest Region

There was one change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region.

Wartburg and Washington (Mo.) remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 UChicago, No. 4 Loras and new No. 5 Central (Iowa). Three of those top-5 programs competed at the Augustana Interregional Invitational this past weekend; the Knights finished runner-up to Pomona-Pitzer; the Bears and the Maroons matched each other point-for-point with the former earning the 3-2 edge and third place. The Duhawks were sixth at the Lewis & Clark Invite, while the Dutch took third at the Tori Neubauer Invitational.

Niagara Region

There were a few changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Niagara Region.

SUNY Geneseo and RIT remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Rochester (N.Y.), but St. John Fisher jumped to No. 4 and former No. 4 Ithaca is now No. 5. Four of those top-5 programs competed at the Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle this past weekend; the Knights finished runner-up to Johns Hopkins; the Yellow Jackets were sixth with the Cardinals and the Bombers in eighth and ninth, respectively.

North Region

There was a small change to the order of the top-5 teams in the North Region.

UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Carleton and No. 4 St. Olaf, but UW-Stevens Point jumped three spots to No. 5. The top-5 teams were all spread out this past weekend: the Eagles won the team title at the Tori Neubauer Invitational with the Blugold taking runner-up honors; the Knights topped a talented field with several NCAA DI programs at the Lewis & Clark Invite; the Oles were third at the Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle; the Pointers were third at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble.

South Region

There was a small change to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Region.

Emory and Lynchburg remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Washington and Lee, No. 4 Christopher Newport, but Rhodes is now No. 5. Each of these top-5 programs were spread out over the past weekend: the Eagles raced well against NCAA DI programs at the UAB Blazer Classic; the Hornets finished fifth at the Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle with the Captains 13th and the Lynx in 15th. The Generals were seventh at the USC Upstate Invitational against NCAA DI and NCAA DII programs.

West Region

There were a few changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, but Colorado College jumped to No. 3, Trinity (Texas) climbed to No. 4 and UC Santa Cruz held steady at No. 5. Both the Sagehens and the Colorado-based Tigers raced at the Augustana Interregional Invitational this past weekend with the former winning the team title and the latter finishing seventh. The Texas-based Tigers were eighth at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble.