Wild Regional Weekend Jumbles Final DIII National Polls

NEW ORLEANS – An absolutely wild weekend full of regional action shook up the final NCAA Division III Cross Country National Coaches’ Polls of the season.

In the polls, which were released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), only 12 of the 64 teams ranked last week (32 men’s, 32 women’s) remained in place. There were 11 teams that jumped five or more spots and six that fell six or more spots from the previous week.

National PDFs: Week 8 Top 35 Summary | Week-by-Week 2015 | Week-by-Week All Time
Regional Madness: Results/Recap
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NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) UW-Eau Claire Williams North Central (Ill.) Amherst St. Olaf View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll   NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Johns Hopkins Williams Washington (Mo.) Tufts Middlebury View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

Three teams that didn’t move were the top-3 in the men’s poll. No. 1 UW-Eau Claire captured the Midwest Region title over No. 3 North Central (Ill.) and No. 2 Williams edged No. 4 Amherst by one point for the New England crown. The Lord Jeffs, who had thought they won the region title, traded spots with No. 5 St. Olaf.

Likewise, the top-2 teams in the women’s poll were unaffected. No. 1 Johns Hopkins, the three-time defending national champion, is still unanimous and should be after it dismantled the field in the Mideast Region. No. 2 Williams made it look easy in the New England Region and appears to be a threat to a four-peat by the Blue Jays.

There were three teams that soared more than 10 spots from the previous week and they were the Elizabethtown men (No. 27 to No. 15), the Wesleyan (Conn.) men (No. 32 to No. 17) and the Wellesley women (No. 32 to No. 16). All three of those teams had surprising finishes in their respective regions as both Elizabethtown took second in the Mideast, Wesleyan (Conn.) finished fourth in the New England and Wellesley topped a few others to finish fifth in the New England women’s race.

Four teams fell eight or more spots – the MIT men (No. 8 to No. 21), the Washington (Mo.) men (No. 16 to No. 28), the Williamette men (No. 21 to No. 29) and the Rochester (N.Y.) women (No. 17 to No. 26).

Five teams returned to the poll, led by the UW-Platteville men. After receiving votes last week, UW-Platteville surged to tie for 17th after finishing fifth in the Midwest Region. The Wartburg men (No. 30), the Emory men (No. 31), the Allegheny (Pa.) women (No. 30) and the St. Olaf women (No. 31) are the others.

Most – if not, all – of these teams will be competing at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships this weekend. The meet will be held Saturday at the Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne, Wisconsin.