2021 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 3

NEW ORLEANS – The 2021 cross country season is heating up!

Here is the Week 3 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. A not-so-busy weekend of racing still shook up several regions, as teams gear up for the next few weeks, which feature major invitationals from coast to coast.

Remember that Regional Championships Friday is set for November 12!

Great Lakes Region

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

Notre Dame and Butler remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 4 Indiana, but Michigan leapfrogged both Purdue and Michigan State into the No. 5 spot (The Boilermakers are now ranked No. 6, followed by the Spartans at No. 7). The Wolverines gained two spots thanks to their victory over Syracuse at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational three weeks ago (Our regional ranker saw that as a good indicator going forward after the Orange finished runner-up to a talented Arkansas squad at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown this past weekend). Four of those top-5 teams will compete at the Joe Piane Invitational this upcoming weekend with host Notre Dame, Butler, Indiana and Michigan in the field (Purdue is entered, too).

Mid-Atlantic Region

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

Villanova and Georgetown remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Princeton, No. 4 Navy and No. 5 Penn. All five of those top-5 programs will compete this upcoming weekend at the Paul Short Run (The second-ranked Hoyas also have the Joe Piane Invitational listed on their schedule).

Midwest Region

There were a few notable changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region.

Oklahoma State remained No. 1, but Iowa State leapfrogged Tulsa into the No. 2 spot (The Golden Hurricane is now ranked No. 3). Illinois held steady at No. 4, followed by new No. 5 Minnesota. Both the Cyclones and the Golden Gophers competed at the Roy Griak Invitational this past weekend with the former finishing a close runner-up – We’re talking one point – behind BYU, while the latter took fourth place and put three runners in the top-20.

Mountain Region

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

Northern Arizona remained No. 1, but Colorado leapfrogged BYU into the No. 2 spot (The Cougars are now ranked No. 3). Utah State held steady at No. 4 with Weber State at No. 5. It was a flurry of activity in the past few weeks for those top-3 teams, as both the Lumberjacks and Buffs looked strong at the Cowboy Jamboree two weeks ago (NAU won; Colorado finished third with the same score as Oklahoma State) and the Cougars held on for a closer-than-expected win at the Roy Griak Invitational. This is the first time since 2017 that the Buffs have been ranked No. 2 in the Mountain Region. 

Northeast Region

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

Iona and Syracuse remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Harvard, No. 4 UMass Lowell and No. 5 Providence. The Orange took runner-up honors at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown this past weekend, while both the Gaels and the River Hawks will compete at the Paul Short Run this upcoming weekend.

South Region

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

Alabama and Ole Miss remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Middle Tennessee and No. 5 Tennessee, respectively. Those top-3 squads will square off against each other this upcoming weekend at the Joe Piane Invitational.

South Central Region

There were some notable changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Central Region.

Arkansas and Texas remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, but LSU jumped to No. 3, followed by No. 4 North Texas and No. 5 Texas A&M, who all jumped now No. 6 Rice. The Razorbacks rolled to the team title at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown this past weekend, while the Mean Green, Aggies and Owls competed against each other at the Texas A&M Invitational – and finished in that exact order.

Southeast Region

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

Wake Forest and Furman remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Duke and No. 5 NC State. Three of those top-5 teams will compete this upcoming weekend with both the Paladins and Wolfpack at the Joe Piane Invitational and the Tar Heels testing their might at the Paul Short Run. The Demons Deacons match one of the longest stays atop the Southeast Region in the past few years.

West Region

There was a small change to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region.

Stanford and Oregon remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Washington, but Gonzaga leapfrogged Portland into the No. 4 spot (The Pilots are now ranked No. 5). Three of those top-5 teams competed at the Bill Dellinger Invitational this past weekend, as well as a number of other regional foes. The Ducks captured the team title in a close battle with the Bulldogs, winning 55-62. The Pilots finished fourth behind Mountain Region No. 6 Air Force.