2021 NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 4

NEW ORLEANS – What a weekend of racing!

The first weekend of October led to several shifts in the newest NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings, which was released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Monday. Seven regions in the Week 4 edition had at least one change among the ranks, including a new No. 1 in one region.

Great Lakes Region

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

Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Wisconsin remain No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Toledo, who jumped two spots from No. 7 to No. 5 this week, is making its first appearance in the top-5 this season. The Rockets placed ninth at the Joe Piane Invitational and topped several regional opponents in former No. 5 (now No. 7) Indiana and former No. 6 (now No. 8) Ohio State. Other results this weekend include the Wolverines winning the Live in Lou Classic and the Badgers finishing second.

Mid-Atlantic Region

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

Villanova jumped two spots to No. 1 and dropped Georgetown down one spot to No. 2. The Wildcats tied with Northern Arizona at the Paul Short Run with 85 points, ultimately finishing second to the Lumberjacks in the team standings due to the tiebreaker rule, while the Hoyas placed fourth in the field. West Virginia rose one spot to No. 3 as the Mountaineers came in third at the Live in Lou Classic. Princeton fell to No. 4 and No. 5 Penn State held steady.

Midwest Region

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

Minnesota, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Illinois remain No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, and now joined by No. 5 Missouri after a three spot improvement. The Tigers earned the jump after claiming runner-up honors at the Gans Creek Classic. The Gophers also had a favorable outcome this past weekend at Notre Dame with a fifth place finish after racing back-to-back weekends.

Mountain Region

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

BYU, Colorado, Utah and Colorado State held steady at No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, and were idle this past weekend. Soaring 11 spots from No. 13 to No. 2 is New Mexico. The Lobos opened up with a full squad this past weekend at the Joe Piane Invitational and recorded a runner-up finish behind NC State.

Northeast Region

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

Providence and Connecticut remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Harvard, No. 4 Columbia and No. 5 Syracuse, as everyone was idle this past weekend. Two teams will be in competition this upcoming weekend: the Friars at the New England Championships; the Lions at the Metropolitan Cross Country Championships.

South Region

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

Alabama, Ole Miss, Florida State and Tennessee remain No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, and now joined by new No. 5 Georgia Tech. Three teams raced at the Joe Piane Invitational this past weekend, led by the Crimson Tide’s third place outing. The Rebels and Seminoles finished in sixth and seventh, respectively, behind five top-10 nationally ranked teams.

South Central Region

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

Arkansas, Texas and Texas A&M remain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. The Razorbacks won the Chili Pepper Festival and the Aggies captured the team title at the Gans Creek Classic. No. 4 Abilene Christian soared five spots from No. 9 for their first top-5 appearance since 2017 following a victory at the UIW Cross Country Invitational. No. 5 LSU is back in the top-5 after a one week hiatus and placed fifth at Chile Pepper.

Southeast Region

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

NC State and North Carolina remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. The Wolfpack rolled to an easy win at the Joe Piane Invitational by 56 points over New Mexico and placed five runners in the top-12, including four in the top-9. Kentucky jumped three spots from No. 6 to No. 3, which dropped Furman and Liberty back to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Wildcats placed eighth at Joe Piane ahead of the Paladins, who were ranked No. 3 going into the meet.

West Region

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

Washington and Stanford remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Portland, No. 4 Oregon State and No. 5 Oregon. Four teams competed this past weekend: the Huskies placed fourth at the Joe Piane Invitational; the Cardinal were one point shy of a perfect score as they won the Sacramento State Invite; the Pilots and Beavers placed first and fourth, respectively, at the Willamette Invite and had an opportunity to run several runners outside their top-7.