2019 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4

NEW ORLEANS – Our voting coaches were certain on the top-5 teams in Week 4 of the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll.

What about from No. 6 to No. 35? That’s just about anybody’s guess after some incredible racing over the past few weeks, including this past weekend.

NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country

This Week's National Top Five

1
Johns Hopkins

2
Chicago

3
Washington (Mo.)

4
Tufts

5
Williams

Cross Country Polls & Rankings

NATIONAL POLL

REGIONAL RANKINGS

Each of the top-5 teams in the most recent iteration released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) were voted on unanimously by the eight coaches: No. 1 Johns Hopkins, No. 2 UChicago, No. 3 Washington (Mo.) and No. 4 Tufts and No. 5 Williams.

Right below those top-5 teams is where you’ll find Dickinson and MIT locked into a tie for that No. 6 spot. The Red Devils climbed four spots from Week 3 to match their best ranking in program history following a fourth-place showing in the Women’s College Brown 6K at the Paul Short Run, while the Engineers moved up one spot after romping to a team title at the abbreviated Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic.

Oberlin jumped three spots from No. 14 to No. 11 – its best ranking since 2014 – after a strong effort at that same de facto NCAA DIII Pre-National Invitational. The Yeowomen were a clear runner-up to MIT as they packed up well behind lead runner Oona Jung-Beeman, who finished fourth individually (Oberlin’s No. 2 through No. 5 runners came in at 20-25-29-37).

Wartburg is going in the right direction once again after finishing runner-up to WashU at the Dan Huston Invitational this past weekend. The Knights opened the season ranked 11th, which was its best billing since 2013, then fell as far as 17th before jumping five spots to No. 12.

Not too much farther down is where John Carroll resides at a program-record No. 20 after an 11-spot increase. The Blue Streaks ended up in seventh place at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic, just two points behind sixth-place Baldwin Wallace (now ranked No. 19) and eight points behind fifth-place RPI (now ranked No. 14).

Another team that improved 11 spots is St. Olaf. The Oles soared from No. 33 to No. 22 following its third-place finish at the Blugold Invitational. Bryony Hagwood brought home the all-important low stick in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, while her teammates went 11-13-17-19 behind her for 61 total points.

There were four new additions to the National Coaches’ Poll in Week 4: No. 26 Allegheny (Pa.), No. 33 UW-Stevens Point, No. 34 Otterbein as well as Swarthmore and Vassar, who are tied at No. 35. This is the fifth year in a row that the Gators have been ranked in the top-35, while it’s just the sixth time in the past five years that the Pointers found their way home.