A Lot Changes Between Week 1 & Week 2 In NCAA DIII Women’s XC Poll

NEW ORLEANS — What happens during mid-September races in NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country rarely has a say on what transpires come championship time in November, but based on what we saw this past weekend and the impact it had on the National Coaches’ Poll, we could be in store for a treat in Louisville, Kentucky.

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Williams SUNY Geneseo Johns Hopkins Washington (Mo.) MIT View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

Seven teams jumped four or more spots from Week 1 to Week 2, including four that climbed 15 spots each (Ithaca, Stevens, St. Olaf and Oberlin).

Let’s get this out of the way first: None of these big movers jumped into the top-5. That still consists of unanimous No. 1 Williams, second-ranked SUNY Geneseo, third-ranked Johns Hopkins, fourth-ranked Washington (Mo.) and fifth-ranked MIT.

Calvin soared into the top-10 this week thanks to a strong effort at last weekend’s Sundodger Invitational hosted by Washington. The Knights were runners-up in the non-DI portion of the meet as they finished behind Trinity Western, but knocked off DII Simon Fraser and DII Alaska Anchorage.

Then there is Carleton, a team that was 18th last week and 13th now. The Knights were second at this past weekend’s St. Olaf Invitational, only losing to DII Minnesota-Duluth (ranked 10th in last week’s National Coaches’ Poll). Carleton knocked off host St. Olaf (then ranked No. 34) as well as UW-Eau Claire (then No. 19) in the process.

NATIONAL PDFs: Summary | Week-By-Week 2016 | Week-By-Week All-Time
Regional Rankings: Week 2 Summary | Week 2 Recap

MEN’S WEEK TWO NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL

Right next to the Knights in the poll is Ithaca, a team that went from No. 29 last week to No. 14 this week. The Bombers took second at the Yellow Jacket Invitational hosted by the University of Rochester behind DI Cornell. Ithaca was led by sophomore Taryn Cordani, who won the meet in 21:16.0.

Four spots below the Bombers are the trio of Stevens, the aforementioned Oles and Oberlin in 18th, 19th and 20th, respectively.

The Ducks went to the Airfield Invitational hosted by SUNY Oneonta and edged the then-7th ranked team in DIII by one point. Stevens used a first-place finish by Amy Regan to lead the way and then strong pack running to get the 27-28 victory.

Oberlin, like Ithaca, competed at the Yellow Jacket Invitational. The Yoewomen’s first three runners finished in 15th, 19th and 20th and were able to stem the tide at the back to hold off a strong charge by then-ranked No. 20 St. Lawrence.

There were three teams that either returned to the poll or were new to the poll. Pomona-Pitzer went from not being ranked to No. 32, Brandies returned to the poll at No. 34 after receiving votes last week and St. Norbert is new to the poll at No. 35.

The 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held November 19 in Louisville, Kentucky at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park, the same place that held the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships last year.

As an aside, be sure to listen to us unveil this updated poll every Wednesday on a special mini-episode of “Cross Country U,” a new podcast presented by the USTFCCCA.