2021 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 7
NEW ORLEANS – The postseason kicked off in a big way!
Here is the newest edition of the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll for Week 7 of the 2021 season, as released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The top-2 teams might have held their spots since Week 6, but the same couldn’t be said for 28 of the next 33 teams.
NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
2
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
3
Wartburg
Wartburg
4
Washington (Mo.)
Washington (Mo.)
5
Pomona-Pitzer
Pomona-Pitzer
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Would there be any reason to remove No. 1 Johns Hopkins and No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps from their previous positions? Our electorate didn’t think so after the Blue Jays rolled to the team title at the Centennial Conference Championships and the Athenas steamrolled the competition at the SCIAC Championships. CMS looked so strong in victory this past weekend – putting six of its scoring athletes in the top-10 – that it took one first-place vote from JHU.
Wartburg and Washington (Mo.) both improved one spot to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, while Pomona-Pitzer fell two spots to No. 5. The Knights won the team title at the American Rivers Conference Championships in a dominant effort, while the Bears pulled away over the final 2k at the UAA Championships to beat UChicago, which held steady at No. 7.
UW-La Crosse is back in the top-10 after a victory at the WIAC Championships. The eighth-ranked Eagles soared two spots since Week 6 thanks to its 29-point win over now-No. 20 UW-Eau Claire, as they put all seven athletes in the top-15 and four scorers in the top-10.
St. Olaf and Carleton dueled over the 6k distance at the MIAC Championships and each program was rewarded for its efforts. The conference champion Oles went from No. 23 to No. 19, while the runner-up Knights charged two spots from No. 22 to No. 20.
Further down in the index, three more teams improved multiple spots: OAC champion John Carroll went from No. 26 to No. 23; UAA fifth-place finisher Case Western Reserve went from No. 29 to No. 25; NEWMAC third-place finisher Smith went from No. 34 to a program-best No. 28.
Three new teams joined the National Coaches’ Poll in Week 7: Wellesley parlayed a runner-up finish at the NEWMAC Championships into its first ranking since 2016 at No. 24; WIAC third-place finisher UW-Oshkosh comes in at No. 32 for just its fifth appearance in the past four years; CCIW champion Elmhurst found a spot at No. 34, making it the second year in a row that it has been ranked after not ranked before in program history.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Saturday, November 20, because that’s when the 2021 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky!
