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

NEW ORLEANS – The cross country season is moving right along!

Here is the Week 3 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. While this past weekend was a quieter one for racing, there were several key meets that resulted in some regional shakeups and a new No. 1.

Great Lakes Region

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

Michigan and Michigan State remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 5 Indiana. The Spartans were the only team in competition this past weekend and finished fifth at the Roy Griak Invitational. Changes are likely to happen next week as the Joe Piane Invitational this weekend will feature Michigan State, Notre Dame and Indiana.

Mid-Atlantic Region

There were no 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 No. 3 Villanova, No. 4 West Virginia and No. 5 Penn State. The Mountaineers, while not having a full squad compete yet, sent several athletes to race at the LHU Open/Invitational this past weekend. This upcoming weekend will have Georgetown, Villanova and Penn State at the Paul Short Run, while Princeton splits a squad between Paul Short and Joe Piane.

Midwest Region

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

Minnesota and Oklahoma State remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Iowa State, No. 4 Illinois and No. 5 Northwestern. The Gophers and Cyclones both competed at the Roy Griak Invitational this past weekend, with Minnesota topping Iowa State by 30 points for the team crown. The Golden Gophers, Illini and Wildcats will toe the line at the Joe Piane Invitational.

Mountain Region

There were several changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mountain Region.

BYU stayed put at No. 1 and now followed by new No. 2 Northern Arizona, No. 3 Colorado and No. 4 Utah. No. 5 Colorado State remained steady. The Utes gained two spots from No. 6 a week ago after running to an impressive win at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, with the Rams finishing second in the team standings.

Northeast Region

There were a whole slew of changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Northeast Region.

Providence is in the No. 1 position for the first time this season, followed by No. 2 Connecticut (down 1 from No. 2), No. 3 Harvard (up two from No. 5), No. 4 Columbia (up three from No. 7) and No. 5 Syracuse (down one from No. 4). All five teams were in action at the Coast-To-Coast Battle in Beantown this past weekend: the Friars captured runner-up honors  the Huskies finished fourth; the Crimson placed fifth; the Lions beat the Orange by one point, 165-166, for sixth place.

South Region

There were minor changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Region.

Alabama, Ole Miss and Florida State remain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. No. 4 Tennessee gained one spot from a week ago, while No. 5 Vanderbilt also jumped into the top-5 for the first time this season. The Lady Vols placed third at the Roy Griak Invitational after winning the tiebreaker against Liberty. Changes could happen following the results of the Joe Piane Invitational as the Crimson Tide, Rebels, Seminoles and Commodores are slated to compete.

South Central Region

There was one change to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Central Region.

No. 1 Arkansas, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 4 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi held steady and will be joined by new No. 5 Rice, who is back in the top-5 for the second time this season. Four of the five teams raced this past weekend: the Razorbacks placed third at the Bill Dellinger Invitational; the Longhorns posted a perfect score at the Concordia Classic; the Aggies won the Texas A&M Invitational and the Owls earned runner-up honors.

Southeast Region

There were minor changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Southeast Region.

NC State, North Carolina and Furman remain at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Liberty jumped two spots to No. 4 and ahead of No. 5 Duke, who also held steady. The Tarheels took home top honors at the Coast-to-Coast Battle of Beantown, while the Blue Devils finished third in the team standings. The Flames placed fourth at the Roy Griak Invitational ahead of nationally-ranked Michigan State.

West Region

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

Washington, Stanford, Oregon State and Oregon held steady at No. 1, No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. No. 3 Portland is in the top-5 for the first time this season after soaring five spots from No. 8 a week ago. Three teams competed at the Bill Dellinger Invitational this past weekend: the Pilots finished three points behind Arkansas for fourth place, followed by the Beavers in fifth and the Ducks coming in sixth.