Washington (Mo.) Men & Middlebury Women Move to No. 2 in the DIII National Coaches Polls

NEW ORLEANS – Defending men’s champion North Central (Ill.) and women’s champ Johns Hopkins remain No. 1 this week in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III National Coaches Poll, but most of the positions behind them have changed from a week ago.

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The Washington (Mo.) men headline the changes with a move to No. 2, while the Middlebury women enter into a tied for No. 2 in the women’s poll with Wartburg. Including Washington (Mo.) eight of the top ten men’s teams are in different places from a week ago, as are six of the 10 women’s teams.

This poll will hold through conference championships next weekend, as there will not be a new poll this coming Wednesday, Oct. 30, nor will there be new Regional Rankings the day before..

MEN

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
North Central (Ill.).	Washington (Mo.) (+1)	St. Olaf (+2)	Williams (+5)	UW-La Crosse (-3)
View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll

No. 1 North Central (Ill.) may have defeated now No. 2 Washington (Mo.) this past weekend at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational this past weekend, 33-64, but the showing by the Bears was strong enough to move them into the second spot in the nation. Former National Athlete of the Week Drew Padgett finished runner-up to lead three Bears among the top 10 finishers in the 566-runner field featuring eight other ranked teams.

Behind individual champion and three-time National Athlete of the Week John Crain, two-time defending NCAA champ North Central displayed the depth and strength that has led to their seventh No. 1 rank of the season, placing 10 runners within the meet’s first 31 finishers. The Cardinals have now been the No. 1 team in the land for 41 of the past 46 polls dating back to the beginning of the 2009 season.

Up to its best rank since USTFCCCA records began in 2006 is No. 3 St. Olaf. Behind five top-13 finishers, the Oles were resounding team champions over UW-La Crosse at the Eagles’ own Jim Drews Invitational, 41-96, resulting in a two-spot jump for St. Olaf to No. 3 and a three-position slide to No. 5 for La Crosse.

Central (Iowa) finished third at the same meet to move up one spot to No. 9 in the poll.

Middlebury’s men joined their women in the national top five at No. 4 after a decisive victory over a host of Division I teams at the UAlbany Invitational with a tidy score of 22 points behind four of the top five finishers. The Panthers are up five spots from a week ago.

Behind UW-La Crosse at No. 5 is No. 6 Williams, which fell two spots from a week ago. The Ephs extended their streak of consecutive Little Three titles to 26 over Amherst and Wesleyan.

Down one spot from a week ago is No. 7 NYU. The Bobcats won the title at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble over in-state rival No. 18 SUNY Geneseo, 55-93. Also in the field were No. 20 Allegheny (Pa.), No. 31 Rochester and No. 35 Case Western.

No. 8 Dickinson remained stationary in the rankings after taking down squads from No. 13 Lock Haven and No. 18 Shippensburg of Division II en route to winning the Gettysburg Invitational.

Dropping three spots to No. 10 was UW-Oshkosh, which finished fourth at its own Brooks Invitational. UW-Eau Claire beat the Titans to finish third, but the Blugolds are one spot back of Oshkosh at No. 11.

The biggest move of the poll belonged to No. 13 Bowdoin, which improved 12 spots following a team championship at the Maine State Championship. The Polar Bears were ranked as high as No. 5 earlier this season.

Also making big leaps up the poll were no. 24 Luther, up 10 spots, and No. 25 Colby, up eight spots.

No. 27 UW-Stout joined the top 35 for the first time this season and for the first time since week eight of the 2012 season.

Making their returns to the poll were No. 33 Carleton, No. 24 Wheaton (Ill.) and No. 35 Case Western.

Women

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women
1)	t2)	t2)	4)	5)
Johns Hopkins	Wartburg	Middlebury (+1)	MIT	Calvin (+3)
View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

Defending champion and unanimous No. 1 Johns Hopkins kept its dominant season going with a perfect 15-point score in the non-Division I section of the Christopher Newport Invitational behind an individual win by former National Athlete of the Week Hannah Oneda and a runner-up finish by Frances Loeb.

Wartburg held steady at No. 2 following a team title at the UW-La Crosse Tori Neubauer Invitational, but the Knights have company in the second spot in the form of Middlebury, which is now tied for the spot.

Middlebury took the team title at the UAlbany Invitational over Division I programs with individual winner Sarah Guth and runner-up Erzsebet Nagy leading the squad to a 24-point score.

No. 4 MIT was idle in the rankings and in competition.

Calvin turned in a dominant team title over No. 9 Chicago and No. 13 Trinity (Tex.) — both ranked in the top 10 at the time of the meet — to move up three spots to No. 5, its highest rank since week seven a season ago. The Knights were led by two top-10 finishers in fifth-place former cross country National Athlete of the Week Cassie Vince and eighth-place former track National Athlete of the Week Nicole Michmerhuizen.

Displaced down one spot by Calvin was No. 6 Williams, which earned a perfect 15 team score en route to a sixth-straight Little Three title.

No. 7 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps remained stationary after finishing 8-0 at the SCIAC Multi-Dual meet.

No. 8 NYU was up seven positions after taking down then-No. 10 SUNY Geneseo at the Inter-Regional Rumble, 72-118. SUNY Geneseo fell a spot into a tie at No. 11. Also from this meet, No. 14 Carleton finished third to jump seven spots, while No. 20 Case Western also jumped seven spots.

The biggest move into the top 10 came courtesy of No. 10 Washington (Mo.), which finished third at UW-Oshkosh in third just behind No. 9 Chicago and just ahead of No. 13 Trinity.

A trio of teams rejoined the poll this week in No. 25 UW-Stevens Point, No. 26 Marywood and No. 30 St. Benedict. Marywood is up to its best rank since USTFCCCA records began in 2006.

New additions to the top 35 include No. 28 SUNY Oneonta and No. 33 Brandeis. Oneonta is ranked for the first time since the beginning of USTFCCCA records, while Brandeis is in the poll for the first time since week four of the 2010 season.

The 2013 NCAA Division III National Championships will be contested November 23 in Hanover, Ind., and will be broadcast on NCAA.com.