2019 NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 3
NEW ORLEANS – Things are slowly starting to shake up in the NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll that was released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday morning.
Two changes happened in the top-5, as other teams began to climb the leaderboard in this week’s set of the polls.
NCAA Division I — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Colorado
Colorado
2
Arkansas
Arkansas
2
New Mexico
New Mexico
4
BYU
BYU
5
Stanford
Stanford
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Colorado remained in the driver’s seat after receiving seven first place votes. The Buffalos, last competing at the Wyoming Invite on September 6, will head to Notre Dame this weekend for the Joe Piane Invitational.
There is a tie for No. 2 between Arkansas and New Mexico. The Razorbacks, receiving one first place vote, moved up one spot from a week ago to tie their highest placement since 2013, while the Lobos stayed still and received two first place votes.
The Razorbacks will host the Chili Pepper Festival, while New Mexico, who has been off since August 31, will see Colorado at Joe Piane for a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams.
No. 4 BYU received one first-place vote and moved up two spots from a week ago. The Cougars rolled to a team title at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, having their top three runners finish 1-2-4.
No. 5 Stanford remained still to round out the top-5 teams from their showing at the John McNichols Invitational, placing second to Arkansas by 5 points.
Other moves within the top-10 include No. 9 Wisconsin and No. 10 Michigan State each moving up one spot.
Five teams continued to climb up the leaderboard – Syracuse, Iowa State, and Florida State moved up two spots each to come in at No. 15, No. 16, and No. 17, respectively. The Orange, coming off their team title at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown on September 20, earned their highest placement since 2016 when they were ranked fifteenth in the preseason.
No. 19 Oklahoma State jumped up one spot. Although the Cowgirls haven’t competed since the Tulsa Preview on August 31, they are slated to run at the Chili Pepper.
Boston College is the final team to move up from their previous top-30 ranking. The Eagles moved from No. 26 to No. 25, previously placing second at Beantown to Syracuse.
Four teams have joined the top-30 after receiving votes. Air Force, Illinois, Oregon State, and California Baptist come in at No. 20, No. 21, No. 24, and No. 30, respectively.
For Air Force, this matches the program’s highest program ranking when they were ranked No. 20 back in 2016. The Falcons placed third in the team standing at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in an effort that topped several nationally-ranked teams.
Illinois is making its first appearance in the poll since 2009. The Fighting Illini claimed a second place finish at the Ohio State Buckeye Preview, topping No. 22 Penn State and No. 23 Ohio State.
Oregon State moved from the land of receiving votes following their fifth place team finish over No. 18 Furman by three points at the aforementioned Bill Dellinger Invitational, while Cal Baptist moved into the top-30 took home the crown at the Roy Griak Invitational and beating out No. 26 Columbia and No. 29 Minnesota.
The next NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll will be released next Tuesday, October 8.
Be sure to check back throughout the season as a lot will change between now and November 23, when the 2019 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
