2021 NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 2

NEW ORLEANS – The cross country season is picking up steam.

Here is the Week 2 edition of the NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Monday. 

The newest installment is headlined by two new No. 1s and several shakeups on the regional landscape after a strong weekend of competition.

Great Lakes Region

There were some major changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Great Lakes Region.

Michigan leapfrogged Michigan State for the No. 1 spot, with the Spartans coming in at No. 2 this week. Notre Dame jumped two spots to No. 3, followed followed by No. 4 Wisconsin and now No. 5 Indiana (fell two from No. 3). Four teams were in action this past weekend: the Spartans claimed the team title at the Spartan Invitational; the Fighting Irish and Badgers both won their respective meets with perfect scores; the Hoosiers finished second at John McNichols.

Mid-Atlantic Region

There were two changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Georgetown and Princeton remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by new No. 3 Villanova after a near perfect score to capture the Main Line Invitational. No. 4 West Virginia and No. 5 Penn State round out the top-5.

Midwest Region

There were multiple changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region.

While Minnesota remained at No. 1, the next four spots have changed. Oklahoma State and Iowa State each improved one spot to sit at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, with the Cowgirls finishing second at the Cowboy Jamboree. Illinois fell to No. 4 and is followed by new No. 5 Northwestern. The Wildcats finished second to the Fighting Illini at the Redbird Invite and beat former No. 5 Loyola-Chicago in head-to-head competition.

Mountain Region

There was no change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mountain Region.

BYU and New Mexico remain at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Northern Arizona, No. 4 Colorado and No. 5 Colorado State. Two of those teams competed this past weekend: BYU won the team title at the Florida State Open; Colorado won the Cowboy Jamboree.

Northeast Region

There was no change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Northeast Region.

Connecticut and Providence remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Boston College, No. 4 Syracuse and No. 5 Harvard. This region could be heavily shaken up following the results of the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown that will feature all five teams.

South Region

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

Alabama and Ole Miss stayed at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Georgia Tech and No. 5 Tennessee. The Rebels won the team title at the North Alabama Showcase and the Seminoles finished second at the Florida State Open.

South Central Region

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

Arkansas and Texas remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and No. 5 LSU. Three teams in the region competed over the weekend: the Razorbacks won the Missouri Southern Stampede; the Longhorns finished fifth at the Cowboy Jamboree ahead of No. 8 SMU and now No. 11 Incarnate Word; the Tigers captured the LSU Invite.

Southeast Region

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

NC State and North Carolina remained at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Furman, No. 4 Kentucky and No. 5 Duke. Three of the five teams competed this past weekend: the Wolfpack opened up their season with a perfect score at the adidas XC Classic; the Paladins placed third at the Florida State Open; the Wildcats captured the Commodore Classic.

West Region

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

Washington surpassed Stanford for the No. 1 spot in the region. Boise State, Oregon State and Oregon stayed put at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Now No. 2 Stanford was the lone team to compete this past weekend. The Cardinal did not race a full squad and finished fifth at the Florida State Open.