Few Changes Dot DIII Regional Rankings After Busy Weekend

NEW ORLEANS – For as competitive as the weekend was in NCAA Division III Cross Country, there was minimal movement to the Regional Team Rankings as released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Nine out of the 16 regions had little or no change and there is only one new No. 1 team. The Williams women, fresh off a win at its Purple Valley Classic, leapfrogged MIT for the top spot in the New England Region.

Regional Rankings Summary PDF | Division III XC Rankings Central

There was a pair of movers in the men’s Regional Team Rankings as both Wartburg and Augustana (Ill.) climbed five and three spots, respectively. Both the Knights (seventh to second in the Central Region) and the Vikings (ninth to sixth, Midwest Region) competed at last weekend’s Brissman-Lundeen Invitational, a meet in which there were 603 runners at the starting line. Wartburg finished second in the team standings behind Division-I Illinois, while Augustana (Ill.) took third.

In the women’s poll, the Central Region and Mideast Region had a few changes.

Starting with the Central Region, St. Olaf moved up two spots from No. 4 to No. 2 after a second-place team finish at the Suzy Wilson Women’s Maroon III (Division III) Race at the Griak Invitational. The Oles were one point away from winning the championship.

Then in the Mideast, Dickinson is now tied for second with Elizabethtown behind reigning national champion Johns Hopkins. Haverford and Misericordia both jumped up three spots from No. 7 and No. 8, respectively after strong performances at the Dickinson Long-Short Invitational and the Lock Haven University Invitational.

There are seven new additions to this week’s polls. Five are on the women’s side – Marymount (Va.) (No. 8, South/Southeast Region), Puget Sound (No. 9, West), Augustana (Ill.) (No. 10, Midwest), Grinnell (No. 10, Central) and Susquehanna (No. 10, Mideast). That leaves two on the men’s side – UW-Whitewater (No. 10, Midwest) and Hope (No. 10, Great Lakes).

We should hopefully see some movement in the next few weeks, but if not, then certainly after the NCAA Division III Cross Country Regional Championships on Saturday, November 14.

USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining predicted team finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships.