Final DIII Regional Rankings Shed Light On Postseason

NEW ORLEANS – Conference championships have come and gone in NCAA Division III Cross Country, which means we’re one step closer to the national meet.

Before national glory is attained in Winneconne, Wisconsin, teams will compete in their respective regional championships next weekend. That’s where the final Regional Team Rankings – released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) – come into play. We’ll find out if the regions shake out how each pollster thought it would.

Quick Jump: Men’s Rankings | Women’s Rankings
Regional Rankings Summary PDF | Division III XC Rankings Central

The final rankings didn’t see many changes at the top. Fifteen of the 16 No. 1 teams are still at the top of their respective regions. The only team that fell from its perch was Wabash in the Great Lakes Region and Allegheny (Pa.) took over in its stead.

Before we go any further, here are the 16 top-ranked teams entering regionals. Men’s teams are listed first, followed by women’s teams.

• Atlantic Region: Geneseo State, Geneseo State
• Central Region: St. Olaf, Carleton
• Great Lakes Region: Allegheny (Pa.), Hope
• Mideast Region: Haverford, Johns Hopkins
• Midwest Region: UW-Eau Claire, Washington (Mo.)
• New England Region: Williams, Williams
• South/Southeast Region: Emory, Emory
• West Region: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

Many of the second-ranked teams weren’t as lucky to stay in place. Only eight of the 16 teams remained where they were from the previous week. The biggest gainers of the week were the Christopher Newport men ( No. 4 to No. 2 in the South/Southeast Region) and the RPI women (No. 5 to No. 2 in the Atlantic Region).

Moving down the line, there are 10 teams who remained at No. 3 from last week. Four from last week jumped up to No. 2, including the Loras men (Central Region), the Williamette men (West Region), the Haverford women (Mideast Region) and the Whitworth women (West Region).

There are 14 new additions to the rankings this week. Here they are broken down by gender.

• Men: Ithaca (Atlantic, No. 9); WPI (New England, No. 9); John Carroll (Great Lakes, No. 7); Berry (South/Southeast, No. 8); Birmingham-Southern (South/Southeast, No. 10); DeSales (Mideast, No. 9); Swarthmore (Mideast, No. 9); Caltech (West, No. 9).
• Women: Ithaca (Atlantic, No. 9); Loras (Central, No. 6); Connecticut College (New England, No. 10); Eastern Mennonite (South/Southeast, No. 9); DeSales (Mideast, No. 9); Puget Sound (West, No. 9).

The NCAA Division III Regional Championships will be held Nov. 14 across the nation.

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.