2023 NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Preseason
NEW ORLEANS – Cross country is back!
Here is the preseason edition of the NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for the 2023 season, as released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Regional Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams’ strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining a rank-order of squad potential. Only USTFCCCA member programs are eligible to receive a ranking. Teams with provisional status within the region may be ranked.
Regional Championships Friday is set for November 10.
Great Lakes Region
The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame look to defend their regional title as the preseason favorites return three of those scoring runners, along with some high-impact transfers and freshmen looking to make a splash on the collegiate scene. The Ohio State Buckeyes are hot on Notre Dame’s heels with the projected second automatic bid, and could be poised to take the top slot after all of the top-5 women from their 15th place NCAA team are set to return.
Closing out the top-5 are familiar faces in the teams of Michigan State, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Mid-Atlantic Region
The third time’s the charm as Georgetown and West Virginia return to the grass the favorites for the two automatic bids to NCAAs. Georgetown, returning five women from the top-15 at last year’s NCAA Championships, look poised to keep their crown. The West Virginia Mountaineers will once again be led by their steadfast low-stick All-American Ceili McCabe.
Penn, Penn State, and Princeton take the third, fourth, and fifth respective spots.
Midwest Region
The Oklahoma State Cowgirls once again emerge as the favorites. The Cowgirls, who dominated the meet last year, lose lead scorer Natalie Cook, but have plenty of stars from last year to fill in the gaps, returning Taylor Roe, Gabija Galvydyte, Molly Born, Gabby Hentemann and Billah Jepkirui. Iowa State leaps up a spot from last year’s preseason rankings for the second projected auto-bid, boasting impressive depth after returning a full squad and adding several impact transfers.
Northwestern, Minnesota and Bradley claim the rest of the top-5 spots.
Mountain Region
The women of Northern Arizona have risen to the spotlight to take the first automatic spot projection, climbing five spots from last year’s ranking. The Lumberjack women return elite talent in Elise Stearns and Annika Reiss, but the sheer depth of their incoming class that includes transfers Aliandria Upshaw, Gracelyn Larkin, Maisie Grice and Ruby Smee has cemented them as favorites. The Colorado Buffaloes are also relying on new faces to make big noise, as the second-ranked Buffs are returning four of their top-7 and added high-level transfers, such as All-Americans Natalie Cook and Marliee Starliper.
BYU, New Mexico and Colorado State round out the top-5.
Northeast Region
The Providence Friars are yet again favored for the first automatic bid, returning every athlete from their champion team top-7 last year. Columbia moves up from last year’s tenth-place preseason ranking to be projected for the second automatic bid. The Lions only lost one of their athletes from their third-place regional team from last year.
Rounding out the top-5 are Harvard, Syracuse, and Northeastern.
South Region
The Alabama Crimson Tide women are expected to earn the top position, after a promising incoming class looks ready to replace the loss of three top-5 scorers. The Florida Gators, led by last year’s NCAA runner-up Parker Valby, come in champing at the bit for second place, with three All-American transfers in Elise Thorner, Amelia Mazzie-Downie and Flomena Asekol.
Florida State, Ole Miss, and Lipscomb finish out the top-5.
South Central Region
The Arkansas Razorbacks are yet again the perennial favorites for the title, returning a deep team that has the familiar faces of Isabel Van Camp and Sydney Thorvaldson ready to make another strong run. SMU is looking to claim the second automatic bid, thanks to returning all five of last year’s scoring runners on their fifth-place team.
Texas, LSU, and Texas A&M round out the top-5.
Southeast Region
The defending national champions of the NC State Wolfpack look poised for another automatic bid and first-place finish. The Wolfpack returns individual champion Katelyn Tuohy and boasts an elite top-5 with key transfer Abbey Loveys. The North Carolina Tar Heels look to claim the second auto bid in a similar fashion, after returning most of last year’s runner-up squad and led by familiar faces at the national level in Brynn Brown and Kelsey Harrington.
Virginia, Duke, and Furman round out the top-5.
West Regional
Stanford and Oregon are projected to claim the two automatic spots. The Stanford Cardinal return plenty of big-time names such as All-Americans Zofia Dudek and Lucy Jenks. Stanford also will be looking for a big move by elite incoming freshman Irene Riggs to be an instant impact. The Oregon Ducks are also returning with a squad full of fresh faces in a strong freshman class, and led by Izzy Thorton-Bott.
Rounding out the top-5 are Washington, Oregon State, and CBU.
