2022 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – That’s more like it!
Here is the newest NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll for the 2022 season, as released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Remember that this poll is conducted by counting votes from ten member coaches – one from each of the division’s ten regions – who also do the Regional Rankings each week.
NCAA Division III — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Pomona-Pitzer
Pomona-Pitzer
2
MIT
MIT
3
Wartburg
Wartburg
4
UW-La Crosse
UW-La Crosse
5
North Central (Ill.)
North Central (Ill.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Top-ranked Pomona-Pitzer and second-ranked MIT were two of only five teams that held their places from Week 1 after the first big weekend of the regular season. The unanimous favorite Sagehens and the Engineers were joined by No. 23 Calvin, No. 31 Mount Union and No. 35 Rowan.
Pomona-Pitzer, the two-time defending national champions, opened its season this past weekend at the UCR Invitational and showcased its depth, in addition to running a controlled race. The Sagehens, who finished fourth behind NCAA DI programs Cal Poly, Southern Utah and UC Riverside, had a tight 19-second spread between their top-5 runners. Owen Kobett led the way for Pomona-Pitzer in 24th place.
MIT sat idle, but will test itself this weekend at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown, where it is scheduled to compete against top NCAA DI programs. The Engineers last toed the start line two weeks ago at the Maribel Sanchez Souther Invitational with Andrew Mah picking up the individual win.
North Central (Ill.), Johns Hopkins and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps made the biggest moves into the national top-10 between Week 1 and Week 2. The Cardinals, who finished fourth at the MSU Spartan Invitational, jumped eight spots from No. 13 to No. 5. The Blue Jays, who ended up just behind North Central (Ill.) in sixth place, soared 10 spots from No. 16 to No. 6. Finally, you have the Stags, who climbed five spots from No. 13 to No. 9 after placing 11th at the UCR Invitational as the second NCAA DIII squad behind the top-ranked Sagehens.
Other teams making big improvements were No. 22 Bates (up 10 spots), No. 24 Loras (up nine spots) and No. 30 NYU (joined the National Coaches’ Poll for the first time this season)
Mark your calendars for November 19, because that’s when the 2022 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships will be held at the Forest Akers East Golf Course in Lansing, Michigan.
