2021 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 3

NEW ORLEANS – Now the fun is about to begin!

Here is the newest edition of the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll for Week 3 of the 2021 season, as released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Several teams shifted multiple spots since Week 2 and an even bigger weekend coming up promises even more movement soon.

NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country

This Week's National Top Five

1
Johns Hopkins

2
Wartburg

3
Chicago

4
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

5
Williams

Cross Country Polls & Rankings

NATIONAL POLL

REGIONAL RANKINGS

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Nothing changed among the top-4 teams, as No. 1 Johns Hopkins, No. 2 Wartburg, No. 3 UChicago and No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps all held steady. The unanimous Blue Jays and the Athenas will compete at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic this upcoming weekend (although not against each other), while the Knights host the Dan Huston Invitational and the Maroons head off to the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational.

Williams is back in the top-5 for the first time since the preseason. The Ephs dropped to No. 14 in Week 1 and then climbed to No. 8 in Week 2. Williams improved three spots based off its win at the Purple Valley Classic this past weekend. The Ephs put all five scoring athletes in the top-15 – two in the top-10 – to knock off former No. 6 MIT and No. 11 Tufts, among others. Three teams fell one spot in the National Coaches’ Poll to coincide with Williams’ rise: Washington (Mo.) is now No. 6; MIT is now No. 7; Dickinson is now No. 8.

Pomona-Pitzer jumped six spots to join the top-10 for the first time this season. The Sagehens, who are now ranked ninth, are no strangers to the top-10, having been ranked among the nation’s best programs five times in 2019. Pomona-Pitzer starred at the Cougar Challenge this past weekend, finishing a strong fourth behind three nationally-ranked NCAA DII programs. Katie Cline and Genevieve DiBari led the Sagehens with fantastic individual efforts and placed second and third, respectively, with identical times.

St. Lawrence went from receiving votes in Week 2 to No. 30 in Week 3. The Saints, who have now only been ranked in the National Coaches’ Poll twice in the past two years, captured the team title at the Ronald C. Hoffman Invitational this past weekend with a near-perfect score of 20 points. St. Lawrence went 1-3-4-5 with runner-up Clarkson taking that No. 2 spot.

Here are a few of the meets which will impact the National Coaches’ Poll next week: Brissman-Lundeen Invitational, Dan Huston Invitational, Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic and the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational. Those will take place on either Friday or Saturday.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 20, which is when the 2021 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships will be held at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky.