2019 NCAA DIII Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – There some huge intra-regional matchups across the nation this past weekend, which really shook up the most recent NCAA Division III Cross Country Regional Rankings that were released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Would you believe us if we told you there were four new No. 1 teams? What about the fact that nine combined sets of regional rankings shifted between Week 3 and Week 4?
Remember: We’ll find out which teams earn automatic bids to the 2019 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships when Regional Championship Weekend hits full force on Saturday, November 16.
Men’s Story
Atlantic Region
There were a few notable changes to the top-5 teams of the Atlantic Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
SUNY Geneseo and RPI remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, while Ithaca holds down the No. 3 spot for yet another week. NYU and Ramapo, who were both not ranked last week, surged into the top-5 and No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Violets and the Roadrunners raced each other to a tie this past weekend in the Men’s Brown Race at the Paul Short Run.
Central Region
There were a few notable changes to the top-5 teams of the Central Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
Wartburg remains No. 1 after winning the Dan Huston Invitational this past weekend, while St. Olaf jumped from No. 3 to No. 2 following a victory at the Blugold Invitational in which the squad had a meager 30-second spread.
Carleton was pushed down to No. 3, while Luther and Loras climbed into the top-5. The Norse ran well at the Blugold Invitational, while the Duhawks topped former Central Region #2 St. Thomas (Minn.) at the Dan Huston Invitational.
Great Lakes Region
There were a few notable changes to the top-5 of the Great Lakes Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
The biggest change was that Otterbein is No. 1 for the first time in program history. The Cardinals ran extremely well this past weekend in the Men’s Silver Race at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic, finishing third in the team standings.
Calvin dropped to No. 2, while John Carroll and Case Western Reserve flipped their spots from last week: The Blue Streaks go to No. 3 after a strong showing in the aforementioned Men’s Silver Race, while the Spartans are now No. 4.
Trine had its best race of the season at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic and jumped up one spot to No. 5 from No. 6.
Mideast Region
There were a few changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mideast Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
Carnegie Mellon and Johns Hopkins remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, after strong efforts at the Paul Short Run and the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic.
Dickinson leapfrogged Haverford into the No. 3 spot after beating the Fords head to head at the Paul Short Run.
Elizabethtown climbed back into the top-5 for the first time since Week 1.
Midwest Region
There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
North Central (Ill.) and Washington (Mo.) still remain No. 1 and No. 2, but UChicago is now ranked No. 3. The Maroons dazzled at the Brissman-Lundeen Cross Country Invitational hosted by Augustana (Ill.) as they swept the proceedings and put all seven runners in the top-10.
UW-La Crosse dropped to No. 4 after a tough day at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic, while UW-Stevens Point holds steady at No. 5 for the fifth week in a row.
New England Region
There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the New England Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
The top-3 teams from Week 3 remain the same as the region is headlined by No. 1 Williams. Sitting behind the Ephs is No. 2 MIT and No. 3 Bates. Both the Engineers and the Bobcats raced this past weekend, but didn’t do enough at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic or State of Maine Meet to close the gap on Williams.
Amherst and Middlebury went head to head at the Paul Short Run and the Mammoths earned the victory, which propelled them to No. 4 and the Panthers down to No. 5.
South/Southeast Region
There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the South/Southeast Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
Four of the top-5 teams from last week went head to head at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic with Berea (Ky.) topping them all. That pushed the Mountaineers to the No. 1 spot for the first time since the preseason.
Former No. 1 Emory finished behind Berea (Ky.) and dropped to No. 2, while Washington and Lee and Lynchburg finished further back and are ranked No. 3 and No. 4 again.
Oglethorpe rounds out the top-5 in Week 4.
West Region
There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer were both idle this week and remain No. 1 and No. 2, while UC Santa Cruz showed well at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic and continues to hold down the No. 3 spot.
Colorado College also ran well in Louisville, propelling itself to the No. 4 rank in the region, while Occidental fell from No. 4 to No. 5 to correspond with the other Tigers’ rise.
Women’s Story
Atlantic Region
There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Atlantic Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
SUNY Geneseo is still the regional favorite and is followed by No. 2 RPI, No. 3 RIT, No. 4 Rochester (N.Y.) and No. 5 Vassar.
Central Region
There were some major changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Central Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
Wartburg turned in a strong showing at the Dan Huston Invitational and jumped two spots from No. 3 to No. 1. The Knights, who took down former No. 1 Carleton in the process, are ranked No. 1 for the first time since Week 7 of the 2013 season.
Both Carleton and St. Thomas (Minn.) dropped one spot to correspond with Wartburg’s rise, while St. Olaf held steady at No. 4 and Loras climbed one spot to No. 5 from No. 6.
Great Lakes Region
There were a few notable changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Great Lakes Region between Week 3 and Week 4 after many teams competed at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic this past weekend.
Oberlin finished as the top team in the region and a clear second to meet champion MIT, which is why it remained No. 1. The Yeowomen were led by Oona Jung-Beeman in Louisville.
Hope is still ranked No. 2 after a fourth-place finish at the Live in the Live Cross Country Classic, while Baldwin Wallace and John Carroll each push up one spot thanks to their fifth- and sixth-place showing at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park.
Former No. 3 Case Western Reserve dropped two spots to No. 5.
Mideast Region
There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mideast Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
Johns Hopkins and Dickinson remain No. 1 and No. 2, but Swarthmore jumped from No. 5 to No. 3 after a decent showing in the Women’s College Brown 6K at the Paul Short Run.
Carnegie Mellon and Messiah each shuffled down one spot to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, to correspond with the Garnet’s move.
Midwest Region
There were some notable changes to the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
UChicago and Washington (Mo.) are still favored to earn automatic bids to NCAAs, while UW-Eau Claire, Elmhurst and UW-Stevens Point improved their positions to No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Blugolds captured the team title at their own invitational this past weekend, scoring 49 points, while the Blue Jays and Pointers fared well at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational and Blugold Invitational, respectively.
New England Region
There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the New England Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
Tufts and Williams didn’t compete and remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, while MIT and Middlebury are No. 3 and No. 4 for the second week in a row. Coast Guard sailed up one spot from No. 6 to No. 5 after its performance at the Paul Short Run this past weekend.
South/Southeast Region
There were some major changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South/Southeast Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
Centre and Emory leapfrogged Washington and Lee into the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, while the Generals – who were idle – fell to No. 3. The Colonels ran their best race of the season at the Live in the Lou Classic where they finished ninth as a team. The Eagles weren’t too far behind Centre in 11th place, three points out of 10th.
Rhodes and Trinity (Texas) held steady at No. 4 and No. 5 once again.
West Region
There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region between Week 3 and Week 4.
Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps are still favored to earn automatic bids to NCAAs, while UC Santa Cruz, Occidental and Whitman sit No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
