2021 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 1

NEW ORLEANS – Doesn’t it feel good to see cross country in the fall again?

Well, it’s already September 13, which means Regional Championships Friday is just two short months away. We don’t mean to alarm you or anything!

Here is the Week 1 edition of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Monday (Remember that last week’s release was the “Preseason” edition).

Great Lakes Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Great Lakes Region.

Notre Dame and Butler still sit No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Michigan State and No. 5 Indiana. The Bulldogs and the Badgers both made it look easy this past weekend, winning the IUPUI Jaguar Classic and the Badger Classic, respectively.

Mid-Atlantic Region

There was a minor change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Villanova and Georgetown still sit No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Princeton and No. 4 Penn. Navy leapfrogged Penn State into the No. 5 spot after a strong performance at its own Navy Invitational, sweeping aside Catholic University and taking the top-13 spots.

Midwest Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region.

Oklahoma State and Tulsa still sit No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Iowa State, No. 4 Minnesota and No. 5 Missouri. Four of the top-5 teams have competed so far this season: the Cowboys beat the Golden Hurricane in a dual meet; the Golden Gophers finished fourth at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational; the Tigers finished runner-up at the Gans Creek Classic.

Mountain Region

There was a minor change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mountain Region.

Northern Arizona and BYU still sit No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Colorado and No. 4 Utah State. Former No. 7 Weber State jumped to No. 5 after a strong effort in a loss to the second-ranked Cougars at the BYU Autumn Classic this past weekend.

Northeast Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Northeast Region

Iona and Syracuse still sit No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Harvard, No. 4 UMass Lowell and No. 5 Providence. Both the Orange and the Crimson turned in solid efforts this past weekend: Syracuse took runner-up honors at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoes Invitational; Harvard topped Princeton and Yale at the HYP triangular.

South Region

There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Region.

Ole Miss and Florida State still sit No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, but Alabama leapfrogged Middle Tennessee State into No. 4 (The Crimson Tide is now No. 3) and Tennessee held steady at No. 5. Our regional ranker noted that the Crimson Tide could have better depth than the Blue Raiders, which swapped those spots. Both the Seminoles and the Volunteers posted wins this past weekend: Florida State at the Covered Bridge Open; Tennessee in a dual meet against Louisville.

South Central Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Central Region.

Arkansas and Texas still sit No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Arkansas State, No. 4 Rice and No. 5 LSU. Three of those top-5 teams already competed this season, with both the second-ranked Longhorns and fourth-ranked Owls picking up victories at their own invitationals.

Southeast Region

There was a minor change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Southeast Region.

Wake Forest and Furman still sit No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Duke and No. 5 NC State. But, what about No. 4? Well, that’s where North Carolina jumped four spots from No. 8 after beating previous No. 4 Charlotte head-to-head, 23-32, at the Charlotte Opener.

West Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region.

Oregon and Stanford still sit No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Portland and No. 5 Gonzaga. Each of those top-5 teams opened up their season over the past few weeks and posted favorable results while showcasing their depth.