Conference Championships Shake Up Division III XC National Coaches’ Polls

NEW ORLEANS—Most of the top Division III cross country teams solidified their standing in the National Coaches’ Polls at conference meets this weekend, while conference meets gave voters a better view of the latter two-thirds of the poll.  The poll was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

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

The women’s top five teams all stayed in the same spot as the last two weeks after winning their conference meets on Saturday. Every voter had Johns Hopkins No. 1, St. Lawrence No. 2, and Middlebury No. 3; No. 4 MIT polled ten points ahead of No. 5 SUNY Geneseo.

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

No. 6 Williams and No. 7 Washington (Mo.) each climbed one spot and passed No. 8 Calvin.  While Calvin won the MIAA (the country’s oldest sports conference in any division), Williams—finishing just nine points back of Middlebury at NESCACs—and WashU—dominating the UAA—looked particularly good at their conference meets.

Oberlin and UW-La Crosse climb into a tie for 11th after winning their respective conference meets, and No. 13 Carleton moved up one ranking.  That’s the highest ranking for La Crosse since 2009.

Overall, 11 different conferences are represented in the top 13 teams.

No. 19 Dickinson, previously 28th, and No. 24 RIT, previously unranked, made the two biggest jumps of the week.  Both teams were rewarded for the same reason:  acquitting themselves admirably against a top-2 team.   The Dickinson women put two runners in Hopkins’s top 5, while RIT put five runners in St. Lawrence’s top seven.  RIT has never qualified for NCAAs.

Colby hasn’t qualified for NCAAs since 2008; it also haven’t been in the poll since last year.  The While Mules join the national poll at No. 28 after a strong showing at NESCACs.

One of the teams that got beaten by the Mules was No. 30 Tufts, whose 19-slot decline was the biggest in this edition of the poll.

Before the UAA championship, Emory was ranked 30th and Case Western Reserve was 17th.  After the Eagles beat the Spartans by 11 in St. Louis, Emory moved up seven spots to No. 23 and Case fell eight to No. 25.

At the same meet, No. 34 Carnegie Mellon ran its way back into the poll, finishing just six points back of Case.  The Tartans did so a day after longtime coach Dario Donatelli’s retirement was announced.

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No. 1 North Central (Ill.) held on to its top spot by winning its 41st CCIW meet in a row, while No. 2 UW-Eau Claire claimed its ranking by winning its first WIAC meet in 31 years.  Voters were roughly split on No. 3 St. Olaf and No. 4 Williams; four had the Oles third, while three had the Ephs that high.  Both squads won their respective MIAC and NESCAC meets handily.  

So did No. 8 MIT at the NEWMAC and No. 10 Washington (Mo.) at UAAs, both of whom rejoined the top 10 after a month away. 

Eight of the top ten teams were conference titlists; No. 5 UW-La Crosse and No. 6 Colby hold on to their top-ten status on the merits of the brutally difficult WIAC and NESCAC.

Former Nos. 18 and 19 Dickinson and Pomona-Pitzer took the poll’s two biggest tumbles, as the Devils slid to No. 27 and the Sage Hens No. 32 after rough conference meets.

No. 17 UW-Platteville and No. 19 Johns Hopkins have had similar arcs this fall. 

Platteville started the season ranked No. 9 and stayed in the top ten for six weeks before nosediving into the mid-20s following a poor performance in Wisconsin two weeks before conferences.  After beating two top-20 teams at their conference meet, the Pioneers have climbed seven spots from last week.  

Hopkins started the season at No. 7 and stayed in the top ten for four weeks before nosediving into the mid-20s following a poor performance in Wisconsin two weeks before conferences.  After beating a top-20 team at their conference meet, the Jays have climbed seven spots from last week.

Behind Platteville and Hopkins, No. 29 SUNY Cortland saw the third largest improvement compared to last week’s poll.  Cortland only finished four points behind No. 9 SUNY Geneseo at SUNYACs.

At No. 11, the Loras Duhawks are at their high-water mark since the beginning of USTFCCCA DIII polling archives in 2006.  They’ve qualified for nationals three times, with 2003’s 15th place as their best result.

For the second time this season, the No. 21 Widener Pride are also at an all-time high.  They’ll look to make their first NCAA meet in two weeks.

The NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held November 22 in Mason, Ohio.