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

NEW ORLEANS – It was a fairly quiet week even with some great racing across the nation this past weekend. 

While the majority of the regions held steady, three regions had some sort of change take place in their top-5, including a new No. 1 in the Week 4 edition of the NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings!

Atlantic Region

There were no changes among the top-5 teams in the Atlantic Region.

Charleston (W.VA.) and Seton Hill remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Edinboro, No. 4 Slippery Rock and No. 5 Davis & Elkins. Everyone was idle this past weekend and are slated to compete this upcoming weekend, including the Golden Eagles, Griffins, Fighting Scots and Senators at the Royals Challenge in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Central Region

There were no changes among the top-5 teams in the Central Region.

Augustana (S.D.) and U-Mary remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Minnesota Duluth, No. 4 Minnesota State and No. 5 Northwest Missouri. Everyone was idle except for the Vikings, who finished third at the Chile Pepper Festival behind NCAA Division I Arkansas and Tulsa.

East Region

There were no changes among the top-5 teams in the East Region.

Southern New Hampshire and American International remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Saint Anselm, No. 4 Stonehill and No. 5 Roberts Wesleyan. Three teams competed this past weekend: SNHU competed in the Gold section at the Paul Short Run; the Hawks captured the victory at the Bruce Kirsch Cross Country Cup; the Eagles raced in the Gold division at the Live in Lou Classic. Changes could come next weekend after the New England Championships that will feature Southern New Hampshire, American International, Saint Anselm and Stonehill.

Midwest Region

There were no changes among the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region.

Grand Valley State and Southwest Baptist remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Southern Indiana, No. 4 Cedarville and No. 5 Walsh. GVSU was the top NCAA DII team in the Gold division at the Live in Lou Classic with a sixth place finish. Cedarville was also in the Gold race and finished 14th overall. The Bearcats placed 11th at the Chile Pepper Festival.

South Region

There were a plethora of changes among the top-5 teams in the South Region.

Lee (Tenn.) held steady at No. 1 and the only team in the top-5 that didn’t move. No. 2 Tampa and No. 3 Saint Leo each gained one spot from their previous billings, which sent Mississippi College back to No. 4. Making its third appearance in the top-5 is No. 5 Alabama-Huntsville, who gained one spot from No. 6. Four of the five teams competed this past weekend: the Spartans and Lions finished second and fourth, respectively, at the DII National Preview; the Choctaws raced in the Gold division at Live in Lou; the Chargers were at the Chile Pepper Festival.

South Central Region

There were several changes among the top-5 teams in the South Central Region.

Adams State leapfrogged Colorado School of Mines for the No. 1 spot (Colorado School of Mines is No. 2). UC-Colorado Springs and CSU Pueblo remain No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, and now followed by new No. 5 Western Colorado, who moved up from No. 7 in Week 3. All five teams competed this past weekend: the Grizzlies impressed at the Paul Short Run with a fight-place finish among several NCAA DI programs; the Orediggers, ThunderWolves and Mountaineers finished sixth, seventh and ninth, respectively, at the Chile Pepper Festival; the Mountain Lions placed ninth in the Gold division at the Live in Lou Classic.

Southeast Region

There were no changes among the top-5 teams in the Southeast Region.

Queens (N.C.) and Wingate remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Anderson (S.C.), No. 4 Flagler and No. 5 Lenoir-Rhyne. Four of the five teams raced this past weekend: the Royals finished 13th in the Gold division at Live in Lou; the Bulldogs stormed to a win at the DII National Preview; the Trojans won Run the Berry; the Saints finished one point behind NCAA DI Georgia Tech for fourth at the Alexander/Asics Invitational.

West Region

There was once change among the top-5 teams in the West Region.

Simon Fraser and Chico State remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Cal State Stanislaus and No. 4 Cal State San Marcos. Moving into the No. 5 spot is Biola (Calif.). The top-5 may have been idle this past weekend, but we’ll get some head-to-head competition this weekend. SFU and the Wildcats will race at the Bill Roe Classic, while the Cougars and Eagles head to Illinois for the Lewis Crossover.