First Big Weekend Shakes Up DIII National Polls

NEW ORLEANS – With the first big weekend of the 2015 NCAA Division III Cross Country season in the books, it’s time to see what it did to the National Coaches’ Poll, which was released Wednesday afternoon by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

National PDFs: Week 2 Top 35 Summary | Week-by-Week 2015 | Week-by-Week All Time
Regional Rankings: Week 2 Summary | Week 2 Recap
Division III Rankings/Polls Homepage: Link

Reigning champions North Central (Ill.) and Johns Hopkins remained unanimous No. 1 picks for the second consecutive week. The Cardinals didn’t race last weekend, but the Blue Jays did and impressed at the Iona College Paddy Doyle Meet of Champions. Johns Hopkins, led by National Athlete of the Week Sophia Meehan’s second-place finish, beat every DI team in the field not named No. 11 Wisconsin.

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

One of the teams with the strongest showings over the weekend was that of the Washington (Mo.) men, who jumped three spots back into the top-5. The Bears, who appeared in the top-5 in the preseason poll, dominated the Gil Dodds Invitational. Wash U put all seven of its runners in the top-12 and scored 25 points in the process.

Bates is another team in the men’s poll on the upswing. Following a victory at the Bates Super XC Shootout in which they beat Tufts and RPI, the Bobcats surged 14 places to No. 18. This is the first time since 2013 that Bates has been ranked inside the top-20.

Other notables in the men’s poll include No. 15 Calvin, No. 17 Haverford, No. 19 Ohio Northern and No. 27 Allegheny (Pa.), who are all up four spots from last week. St. Thomas (Minn.) joined the poll at No. 28, its highest ranking in the past six years.

There was no movement in the women’s poll until No. 12, where Carleton moved up one spot from last week. Then at No. 15, you can find Tufts, a team that won the team title at the Bates Super XC Shootout and shifted upward six places.

Cornell College is another big gainer, moving up seven spots to No. 25. The Rams haven’t raced since they won the Les Duke Invitational on Sept. 12.

There are two new faces in the women’s rankings this week – No. 33 Rochester (N.Y.) and No. 34 Colby. This is Rochester’s first appearance in the poll since Week 6 of 2013.

Most of these teams will be looking to dethrone North Central (Ill.) and Johns Hopkins at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Nov. 21 in Winnecone, Wisconsin.