2017 NCAA DIII Cross Country Region Rankings – Week 4

NEW ORLEANS – Pick a region, any region.

Chances are you’ll find a bunch of differences between Week 3 and Week 4 in the NCAA Division III Regional Rankings. Those Week 4 Regional Rankings were released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

REGIONAL RANKINGS – SUMMARY PDF
REGIONAL RANKINGS – 2017 Week By Week
REGIONAL RANKINGS – All-Time Week By Week

For those who don’t know or need a refresher, the USTFCCCA Regional Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each of the eight respective regions. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams’ strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining team finishing order at the upcoming NCAA Division III Regional Cross Country Championships.

This year the NCAA Regional Championships will be held on Saturday, November 11.

Atlantic Region

There were some changes in the Atlantic Region from Week 3 to Week 4.

SUNY Geneseo’s men are still No. 1 following a win at the Mike Woods Invitational and are followed by No. 2 RPI, victors at the Saratoga Invitational. Rowan finished a game runner-up to the Knights in New York and moved up from No. 5 to No. 3. St. Lawrence and NYU fared well at the Paul Short Run and come in at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

SUNY Geneseo’s women match the men with the No. 1 ranking and RPI does as well with the No. 2 spot. TCNJ comes in at No. 3 after a third-place finish in the Paul Short Run Brown Race (Non-NCAA DI). Ithaca falls from No. 3t o No. 4 and St. Lawrence slides from No. 3 to No. 5.

Central Region

There weren’t any changes to the Central Region from Week 3 to Week 4. Teams were only able to strengthen their hold on their respective spots.

Loras won a tightly-contested Dan Huston Invitational over Wartburg (41-45) and those teams are No. 1 and No. 2 this week. The Duhawks and Knights had a nearly identical delta between their runners (63 and 64 seconds, respectively).

Nebraska Wesleyan is still No. 3, followed by St. Olaf and Cornell College.

Carleton’s women are No. 1 after rolling at the Running of the Cows. The Knights went 1-2-6-9-10 on the challenging course to beat No. 5 St. Thomas (Minn.).

St. Olaf is No. 2, while Wartburg and Nebraska Wesleyan are No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

Great Lakes Region

What happened at the All-Ohio Championships shook up the Great Lakes Region.

Calvin competed well as the only NCAA DIII team in the Gold Division Race at the Joe Piane Invitational, where it would have placed third among NCAA DI teams.

Ohio Northern added a big piece this past weekend in Matt Molinaro and was the top NCAA DIII team in those aforementioned All-Ohio Championships. The Polar Bears soared from No. 7 to No. 2 in the Great Lakes Region ahead of idle Albion and new No. 4 Case Western and No. 5 Otterbein – both teams that finished behind them this past weekend.

Hope and Calvin are still No. 1 and No. 2 in the women’s rankings after the former fared well at the Cross Country Classic in Louisville, Kentucky, while the latter competed at Notre Dame.

Otterbein won the All-Ohio title and jumped from No. 5 to No. 3. Kenyon placed second behind the Cardinals and is No. 4. Oberlin took part in the Paul Short Run and is No. 5.

Mideast Region

The biggest story out of the Mideast Region is the move Haverford men made.

The Fords jumped in front of Johns Hopkins thanks to a sensational effort at the Paul Short Run. Haverford beat six NCAA DI teams that were ranked in the most recent Regional Rankings, toppled two nationally-ranked NCAA DII teams and a host of those ranked in DIII.

The Blue Jays couldn’t find a rhythm at the Paul Short Run and are now No. 2, followed by Carnegie Mellon and Dickinson. Messiah ascended from No. 8 to No. 5 in Week 4.

The top-5 in the women’s index remains the same with Johns Hopkins, Dickinson, Elizabethtown, Haverford and Carnegie Mellon in order. Look out for the Blue Jays, Red Devils and the other Blue Jays in the postseason as their teams are clicking right now.

Midwest Region

The men’s and women’s index in the Midwest Region wasn’t touched in Week 4.

The top-3 men’s teams – North Central (Ill.), UW-La Crosse and Washington (Mo.) – all won their respective invitationals, while UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout finished runner-up and third, respectively.

Like their male counterparts, the top-3 teams of Washington (Mo.), Chicago and UW-Eau Claire all won their meets this past weekend, while UW-La Crosse finished second and Wheaton (Ill.) didn’t compete.

New England Region

Amherst cemented its spot atop the men’s index of the New England Region this past weekend when it placed second among NCAA DIII teams at the Paul Short Run, ahead of No. 3 Williams and No. 4 Middlebury. MIT remains No. 2 after an idle week and Bates stays at No. 5.

MIT’s women took a breather after a dominant effort at the Purple Valley Classic two weeks ago, while Williams and Middlebury fared well at the Paul Short Run. No. 4 Bates topped RPI at the Saratoga Invitational and Tufts remains at No. 5 after two strong efforts the past few weeks.

South/Southeast Region

There will be some clarity in the men’s index of the South/Southeast Region in a few weeks at the NCAA DIII Pre-National Invitational. No. 1 Christopher Newport, No. 3 Emory, No. 4 Washington and Lee and No. 5 Emory will all go head to head. All five teams in the top-5, including No. 2 Rhodes, competed this past weekend in meets across the nation.

Emory’s women are still No. 1, but Trinity (Texas), Centre, Lynchburg and Washington and Lee all moved up one spot after Rhodes fell from No. 2 to No. 6.

West Region

The SCIAC Multi-Dual Invitational and the Charles Bowles Invitational hosted by Willamette shook things up out west.

Pomona-Pitzer’s men are still No. 1 after winning the SCIAC Multi-Dual over No. 2 Occidental and No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Lewis and Clark fared well at the Cross Country Classic in Louisville, Kentucky, while Pacific Lutheran moved from No. 10 to No. 5 after finishing as the top NCAA DIII team at the Charles Bowles Invitational.

The top-ranked women from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps cruised to a win at the SCIAC Multi-Dual, while No. 2 Whitworth fared well at the Charles Bowles Invitational. Linfield moves up from No. 5 to No. 3 after finishing behind Whitworth, and Occidental (7-1 at the SCIAC Multi-Dual) and Puget Sound come in at No. 4 and No. 5.