2019 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – A major upset this past weekend sent a familiar face to No. 1 and the spoiler to its highest ranking in program history.
That was the case in Week 2 of the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll that was released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
2
Chicago
Chicago
3
Washington (Mo.)
Washington (Mo.)
4
Williams
Williams
5
MIT
MIT
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Two top-5 teams met up this past weekend at the Wheaton Gil Dodds Invitational: No. 1 Washington (Mo.) and No. 4 UChicago. By the end of the meet, the Maroons were crowned victors and both programs no longer sit in those same spots four days later.
Perennial NCAA DIII favorite Johns Hopkins nabbed five first-place votes, moved up one spot from No. 2 to No. 1 and took over the throne for the 49th time in the past seven years. If you’re counting at home, there have only been eight weeks that the Blue Jays haven’t been ranked No. 1 since 2013. Johns Hopkins has asserted itself so far this season with a perfect record at the Mount St. Mary’s 5K Duals and most recently at the Iona Br. Paddy Doyle Meet of Champions where it finished fourth in the team standings behind three NCAA DI programs.
UChicago jumped two spots from No. 4 to a program-record No. 2 after its upset of top-ranked WashU and earned three first-place votes for its efforts. The Maroons had six runners in the top-12 with Abigail Shoemaker leading the way in third place. The spread between Shoemaker and Annika Hildebrandt, who was UChicago’s fifth runner, was just 15 seconds.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps continues its climb up the National Coaches’ Poll. The Athenas soared three more spots to No. 6, which now looks lightyears away from the No. 16 ranking they held in the preseason. CMS earned the team title at the Coyote Challenge this past weekend as it scored 38 points and put six runners in the top-15.
UW-La Crosse went from No. 19 to No. 12 after finishing a close runner-up to No. 9 Carleton at the Running of the Cows this past weekend. The Eagles had six runners in the top-15, yet that couldn’t hold off the Knights, who had four in the top-10.
Hope improved five places from No. 18 to No. 13 between Week 1 and Week 2. The Dutch earned a hard-fought podium finish at the Wheaton Gil Dodds Invitational where they were led by National Athlete of the Week Anastasia Tucker.
Two new teams joined the top-35 this week: No. 27 Elmhurst and No. 29 Centre. This is the first time that the Blue Jays have been ranked in program history and just the third time in the past nine years that the Colonels found themselves in the top-35.
Be sure to check back every week as we’ll see notable changes leading up to the 2019 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 23.
