2022 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 6
NEW ORLEANS – What a weekend!
Here is the newest NCAA DIII Women’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 weekly Regional Rankings.
NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Chicago
Chicago
2
Wartburg
Wartburg
3
SUNY Geneseo
SUNY Geneseo
4
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
5
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
There is once again a unanimous No. 1 in the National Coaches’ Poll, but it’s not who you think it is. UChicago earned all ten first-place votes in Week 6, swapping spots with SUNY Geneseo, which was No. 1 for each of the first five weeks. The Maroons topped the strongest field this year at the Augustana Interregional Invitational this past weekend. UChicago’s mid-range depth was able to trump the low stick that Aubrie Fisher gave still-No. 2 Wartburg. The Maroons finished 5-7-10-14-18 for 54 points, while the Knights came through at 2-9-13-16-17 for 57 points.
Former No. 1 SUNY Geneseo dropped two spots to No. 3 after barely holding off now-No. 10 Carleton at the Rowan Interregional Border Battle. The Knights jousted throughout the 6k competition, but the New York-based squad earned a slim 37-38 victory. The Minnesota-based team got an ultimate low stick from Clara Mayfield – and it wasn’t even close (Mayfield ended up winning by 33.6 seconds at Dream Park in Glassboro, New Jersey.
MIT and Washington (Mo.) didn’t budge from No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. The Engineers stormed to the team title at the Connecticut College Invitational behind four athletes in the top-10, while the Bears finished a clear third at the Augustana Interregional Invitational.
St. Olaf jumped five spots from No. 14 to No. 9, one ranking place ahead of fellow MIAC and North Region rival Carleton. The Oles were second at the Connecticut College Invitational in a strong effort. St. Olaf had its entire top-7 across the finish line before any other team by a long shot (Grace Moeller ended up in 30th place; MIT’s Archana Mohandas was 44th).
Seven other teams improved their rank three or more spots between Week 5 and Week 6
- Williams went from No. 16 to No. 12 after a third-place finish at the Connecticut College Invitational
- UW-Eau Claire went from No. 26 to No. 14 following its fifth-place showing at the Augustana Interregional Invitational
- Bates went from No. 19 to No. 16 after taking fifth at the Connecticut College Invitational
- Loras went from No. 23 to No. 18 following its sixth-place effort at the Augustana Interregional Invitational behind Kassie Parker’s otherworldly low stick at 20:00.2
- Colorado College went from No. 22 to No. 19 after its seventh-place finish at the Augustana Interregional Invitational
- Emory went from No. 25 to No. 21 with a sterling run at the UAB Blazer Classic
- UC Santa Cruz went from No. 28 to No. 22 after taking ninth at the Augustana Interregional Invitational.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 19, because that’s when the 2022 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships will be held at the Forest Akers Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan. Top athletes and teams from the 2022 season will take the course at 11 am ET.
