Shaken-Up DIII Cross Country National Coaches Polls Headlined by Big Moves from St. Lawrence

NEW ORLEANS – The top two slots for both sexes in Wednesday’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll remained stagnant (St. Olaf/North Central (Ill.) men, Johns Hopkins/Williams women), but overall, the first regular-season edition of the top-35 was marked by a significant lack of stability.

National Coaches Poll PDFs: Top 35 Summary | Week-by-Week 2014 | Week-by-Week All-Time
Regional Rankings PDF: Regional Summary

Division III XC Polls/Rankings Central

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) St. Olaf North Central (Ill.) UW-Eau Claire St. Lawrence Central (Iowa) View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Johns Hopkins Williams St. Lawrence Chicago MIT View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

Of the 35 nationally ranked teams, 28 men’s squads and the same number of women’s teams changed slots from the preseason poll. Most of the movements were minor fluctuations as the coaches form their opinions based on the smaller meets of the season’s first three weeks. The real tectonic shifts came from teams who faced off against each other.

On the basis of short-course (6k men, 5k women) wins at the Saratoga Invitational, the St. Lawrence men and women made two of the biaggest jumps in poll history to No. 5 and No. 3, respectively. By virtue of knocking off then-No. 3 Williams, the Saint men skyrocketed 21 spots, while the Saints’ women were rewarded with a 17-spot jump for beating No.2 Williams and No. 9 NYU.

Led by fifth-place Joseph Smith, all five St. Lawrence men crossed the line among the top 10 finishers to beat Williams, 39-53. Cassia Hameline and Lisa Grohn finished second and third for the SLU women, which narrowly edged Williams, 41-43.

Williams’ men fell three spots to No. 6. Both the women of Williams and NYU held firm in the poll.

Elsewhere in the top five, the UW-Eau Claire men moved up one spot to No. 3 – its best rank since at least 2008 – and the MIT women stepped up one step to No. 5.

The ripple effects of that Saratoga meet were felt well down the poll. By virtue of their fourth and fifth place finishes there, respectively, the men of NYU jumped from “receiving votes” to No. 15, and the women of Vassar entered the poll at No. 20.

Also making their season debuts in the national top 35 for the men were No. 17 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, No. 27 Wartburg, No. 31 Carnegie Mellon, No. 33 Bowdoin, and No. 35 Augustana (Ill.).

In addition to Vassar, new to the 2014 women’s poll were No. 32 Whitman, No. 34 Aurora, and No. 35 Amherst.

The NCAA Regional Championships will be held across country on Saturday, November 15.