2023 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Preseason

NEW ORLEANS – Cross country is back!

Here is the preseason edition of the NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll for the upcoming 2023 season, as released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country

This Week's National Top Five

1
Wartburg

2
Chicago

3
Williams

4
MIT

5
Carleton

Cross Country Polls & Rankings

NATIONAL POLL

REGIONAL RANKINGS

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Wartburg is the unanimous favorite to win the national title come Saturday, November 18, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The Knights earned all ten first-place votes from the electorate – and for good reason: Wartburg returns four All-Americans from 2022 – Aubrie Fisher (14^th), Lexi Brown (16^th), Ellie Meyer (22^nd) and Shaelyn Hostager (33^rd). The Knights had four runners in long before any other team at the NCAA meet last year, but finished third in the standings. This is the first time in program history that Wartburg has been ranked No. 1 in the preseason (It is also just the second time overall).

UChicago is projected to contend for the national title as well. The Maroons, who are a clear-cut No. 2 thanks to receiving eight second-place votes, are said to return incredible depth. The leading runner for UChicago is Maddie Kelly, who finished 36^th last year and carried that All-America success onto the track, where she added two more All-America honors. This is the highest preseason rank for the Maroons in program history.

Williams is picked third to begin the season, a far cry from where it finished in 2022 (ninth). The Ephs return six of the seven runners from that lineup, including Molly FitzGibbons and Ella Ball, who both received All-America honors: FitzGibbons was 18^th; Ball finished 26^th. This matches the best preseason rank for Williams in the past six years.

MIT is expected to find the podium in 2023 as the fourth-ranked team in the preseason. The Engineers were seventh last year and saw two athletes earn All-America honors: Olivia Rosenstein (12^th) and Einat Gavish (31^st). Rosenstein returns, as do four of her teammates. This is the best preseason rank for MIT since 2017, when it was third.

Carleton, directed by 2023 USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame inductee Donna Ricks, comes into the 2023 season ranked fifth. The Knights, who finished on the podium for the first time in program history last year, welcome back six of the seven runners from that squad. Hannah Preisser was 15^th as a freshman in 2022 and will be looked to lead the squad with the departure of Clara Mayfield. This is the highest ranking in program history for Carleton.

Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in the preseason: No. 6 Johns Hopkins, No. 7 SUNY Geneseo, No. 8 Washington (Mo.), No. 9 St. Olaf and No. 10 UW-La Crosse. This is the fifth time since 2012 that the Blue Jays haven’t been ranked No. 1 in the preseason. That’s not a bad sign for the defending national champion, as it won the national title in each of those years.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 18, because that’s when the 2023 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships will be hosted by Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.