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

NEW ORLEANS – The winds of change swept through the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings in Week 2, which were released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Regional Championships Saturday is scheduled for November 13.

East Region

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

MIT jumped to No. 1 and is followed by new No. 2 Bates, with former No. 1 Tufts at No. 3, WPI at No. 4 and Brandeis at No. 5. Despite not racing this season, the Engineers are expected to be a formidable force and open the season next week at the Purple Valley Classic. The Bobcats won the team title at their own invitational over NCAA DIII No. 5 Tufts. The other Engineers beat the Judges in a head-to-head matchup at the UMass Dartmouth Shriners Invitational.

Great Lakes Region

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

Calvin is the new No. 1, followed by former No. 1 Hope at No. 2. Former No. 2 John Carroll is now No. 3, followed by former No. 10 Case Western Reserve at No. 4 and former not-ranked-in-Week-1 No. 5 Allegheny (Pa.). The Knights and the Flying Dutch went head-to-head at the MSU Spartan Invitational this past weekend with the former beating the latter, 243-265. The Blue Streaks finished as the top NCAA DIII program at the All-Ohio Championships, followed by the Spartans. The Gators impressed the regional ranker with their depth at their home meet.

Metro Region

There were major changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Metro Region.

Haverford leapfrogged Swarthmore into the No. 1 spot, which moved the Garnet to No. 2. Former No. 8 TCNJ jumped to No. 3, followed by No. 4 Moravian and No. 5 Ursinus. The Fords took top NCAA DIII honors at the Main Line Invitational this past weekend in a race that was also scheduled to see Swarthmore as well. The Lions finished third at the Moravian Invitational, 43 points ahead of the host school.

Mid-Atlantic Region

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

Johns Hopkins and Dickinson remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Carnegie Mellon, No. 4 Elizabethtown and No. 5 Misericordia. Four of the five top-5 teams impressed this past weekend as three picked up team titles: the Blue Jays at the Bro. Doyle Meet of Champions against NCAA DI competition; the Red Devils at the Dickinson Invitational; the Cougars at the Cougar Invitational.

Mideast Region

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

Williams jumped from No. 3 to No. 1, knocking Amherst down to No. 2 and Middlebury to No. 3. RPI and Wesleyan held steady at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Look back to the preseason and you’ll see that this is the same order. The Ephs pushed the Mammoths down one spot after beating them head-to-head at the Little 3 Championships, 27-38.

Midwest Region

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

Wartburg is now No. 1, followed by No. 2 UChicago and former No. 1 Washington (Mo.) at No. 3. Loras held steady at No. 4 with Elmhurst climbing two spots to No. 5. The Maroons ran well at the MSU Spartan Invitational with their top squad and cruised to the team title at the Gil Dodds Invitational against several regional foes to showcase its depth. Our regional ranker also noted that the Bears, the Duhawks and the Bluejays turned in sterling performances as well.

Niagara Region

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

SUNY Geneseo remains No. 1, but RIT leapfrogged Rochester (N.Y.) and Ithaca into the No. 2 spot, slotting the former at No. 3 and the latter at No. 4. St. John Fisher held steady at No. 5. Four of the top-5 teams squared off at the Yellowjacket Invitational with the Engineers taking top NCAA DIII honors ahead of the Yellowjackets, the Bombers and the Cardinals.

North Region

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

UW-La Crosse and Carleton remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 UW-Eau Claire and No. 4 St. Olaf, but now Gustavus Adolphus occupies the No. 5 slot. All five of those programs competed at the St. Olaf Invitational this past weekend and finished in the order that they were ranked. The Eagles won by 14 points over the Knights (46), but the Blugold was right behind them in third place (57).

South Region

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

Emory remains No. 1, but Lynchburg leapfrogged Washington and Lee into the No. 2 spot (The Generals are now ranked No. 3). Rhodes goes from No. 5 to No. 4, while Southern Virginia is ranked for the first time this season. The Eagles impressed at the Converse Kick-Off, as they finished runner-up in an NCAA DII-centric meet. Based on the results from the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational two weeks ago, the Hornets moved ahead of Washington and Lee.

West Region

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

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps remains No. 1, but Pomona-Pitzer leapfrogged George Fox into the No. 2 spot (The Bruins are now ranked No. 3). UC Santa Cruz and Colorado College held steady at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Athenas solidified their hold on the No. 1 ranking based off a strong effort at the UCR Invitational, where they beat Pomona-Pitzer head-to-head. CMS took runner-up honors in the meet behind Cal Baptist, ranked No. 9 in the NCAA DI West Region.