2019 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 3
NEW ORLEANS – We’re beginning to see some separation in the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll.
That seems to happen every year as the calendar turns from September to October.
The most recent installment, released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), saw the top-3 teams distance themselves from the rest of the pack and nine other teams climb multiple spots between Week 2 and Week 3.
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
Tufts
Tufts
5
Williams
Williams
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
We’ll start with that aforementioned top-3: No. 1 Johns Hopkins, No. 2 Chicago and No. 3 Washington (Mo.). While none of those three teams competed this past weekend, the Blue Jays nabbed every first-place vote from the coaches to be unanimous once again, while the Maroons and Bears are consensus selections in their slots as well.
Say “Hello” to the newest member of the top-5: Tufts. The fourth-ranked Jumbos jumped four spots between Week 2 and Week 3 thanks to its victory at the Purple Valley Classic this past weekend. Tufts put three runners in the top-7 (1-2-7) and held off a strong charge from Williams down the stretch. This is the best ranking for the Jumbos since Week 8 of 2015.
Pomona-Pitzer can thank its performance at The Masters University Invitational this past weekend for propelling itself up five spots to its second best ranking in program history. The now ninth-ranked Sagehens won an incredible race against archrival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps by a score of 73-76. Lila Cardillo led the way for Pomona-Pitzer with a runner-up finish as the team put three runners in the top-11.
St. Thomas (Minn.) starred in the Maroon Race of the Roy Griak Invitational and moved up five spots from No. 20 to No. 15, which is its best ranking since 2016. The Tommies were the top-finishing NCAA DIII program by a longshot and used a 29-second spread between its No. 1 and No. 5 runners to close the gap on the top teams.
RIT went from the Land of Receiving Votes to No. 21 following its performance at the Mike Woods Invitational this past weekend. The Tigers finished a clear runner-up behind host SUNY Geneseo and were led by senior Hannah Weppner in sixth place.
Case Western Reserve went from No. 25 to No. 22 after a good showing at the All-Ohio Cross Country Championships. The Spartans finished ninth out of 35 teams and were the second best NCAA DIII program in the field (No. 14 Oberlin ended up in seventh place).
Be sure to check back in throughout the season as the National Coaches’ Poll will continue to shift ahead of the 2019 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, which will be held on November 23 at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky.
