2021 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 7

NEW ORLEANS – What an exciting weekend!

Here is the final edition of the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for the 2021 season, as released on Tuesday afternoon by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The winds of change swept through since Week 6 as Conference Championships Weekend truly shook things up.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 13, because that’s Regional Championships Saturday! The top team in each of the 10 regions will automatically qualify for the 2021 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, while the other 22 teams will be at-large selections.

East Region

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

MIT and Tufts remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, while Bates held steady at No. 3. Wellesley jumped two spots to No. 4, which pushed Brandeis and WPI down to No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. The Engineers rolled to a victory at the NEWMAC Championships, while the Blue earned respect with a runner-up finish. The Jumbos were a strong runner-up at the NESCAC Championships, while the Bobcats finished fourth behind Middlebury.

Great Lakes Region

There was a slew of changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Great Lakes Region.

Hope usurped Calvin at the top of the rankings, while Allegheny (Pa.) and John Carroll swapped spots and Trine and Case Western Reserve swapped spots (The Flying Dutch are now ranked No. 1; the Knights are No. 2; the Gators are No. 3; the Blue Streaks are No. 4; the Thunder is now No. 5). Hope beat Calvin head-to-head at the MIAA Championships, while Trine finished a clear third. Allegheny (Pa.) and John Carroll reigned at the NCAC Championships and the OAC Championships, respectively, while Case Western Reserve ran well at the UAA Championships.

Metro Region

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

Haverford and Swarthmore remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, while Stockton leapfrogged Moravian into the No. 3 spot (The Greyhounds are now ranked No. 4). TCNJ held steady at No. 5 for the second week in a row. The Fords took third at the Centennial Conference Championships with the Garnet right behind them in fourth. Stockton beat TCNJ for the team title at the NJAC Championships by two points, while Moravian finished a close runner-up at the Landmark Conference Championships by just one point.

Mid-Atlantic Region

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

Johns Hopkins and Dickinson remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Carnegie Mellon, but Susquehanna is now ranked No. 4 and Misericordia is now No. 5. The Blue Jays dominated the proceedings at the Centennial Conference Championships, while the Red Devils finished a clear second. The River Hawks were also crowned champions, but theirs at the Landmark Conference Championships. The Tartans finished a game fourth at the UAA Championships behind Washington (Mo.) and UChicago.

Mideast Region

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

Williams and Middlebury remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, but is now followed by No. 3 Smith, No. 4 Amherst and No. 5 St. Lawrence. Three of those teams competed at the NESAC Championships: the Ephs won the team title; the Panthers finished third; the Mammoth were fifth. The Pioneers were a strong third at the NEWMAC Championships. The Saints took home top honors at the Liberty League Championships by a four-point margin.

Midwest Region

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

Wartburg and Washington (Mo.) remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 UChicago, but Elmhurst is now No. 4 and Loras dropped to No. 5. The Knights took home top honors at the American Rivers Conference Championships in a rout. The Bears and the Maroons went toe-to-toe at the UAA Championships with the former coming out on top by a comfortable margin. The Blue Jays won the team title at the CCIW Championships by 45 points. Kassie Parker’s individual title helped the Duhawks to a runner-up finish at the A-R-C- meet.

Niagara Region

There were some big changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Niagara Region.

SUNY Geneseo remained No. 1, but is now followed by No. 2 St. John Fisher, No. 3 Ithaca, No. 4 RIT and No. 5 Rochester (N.Y.). The Knights made it look easy at the SUNYAC Championships, while the Cardinals did the same at the Empire 8 Championships. The Bombers and the Engineers were second and third, respectively, behind SJF at the Liberty League meet. The Yellow Jackets finished last at the UAA Championships, 41 points out of sixth place.

North Region

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

UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed now by No. 3 St. Olaf, No. 4 Carleton and No. 5 UW-Oshkosh. The Eagles won the team title at the WIAC Championships, while the Blugold and the Titans finished second and third, respectively. The Oles and the Knights went head-to-head at the MIAC Championships with the former coming out on top by six points thanks to four runners in the top-10.

South Region

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

Emory and Lynchburg remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Washington and Lee, No. 4 Christopher Newport and No. 5 Rhodes. Out of those five programs, only the Hornets emerged victorious at their conference championship, while the Captains, Generals and the Lynx all finished runner-up. The Eagles were fourth at the UAA Championships.

West Region

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

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Colorado College, No. 4 Trinity (Texas) and No.5 UC Santa Cruz. The Athens dominated the proceedings at the SCIAC Championships, soundly beating the Sagehens in the process. The Colorado-based Tigers won the team title at the SCAC Championships with the Texas-based Tigers earning runner-up honors. The Banana Slugs won the team title at the C2C Championships thanks to putting their entire scoring lineup in the top-10.