2023 NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 2

NEW ORLEANS – With some of the first big-name meets wrapped up, there have been plenty of big time results and shake ups in the rankings early in the 2023 season. 

Here is the newest edition of the NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for the 2023 season, as released on Monday 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 Friday, November 10. 

GREAT LAKES REGION

Projected AQs: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan State

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Ohio State

Note: The Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan Wolverines both leapfrogged Ohio State after the No. 20 nationally-ranked Buckeyes came up short at the Virginia Invitational, placing 15th behind No. 29 Northwestern and a number of unranked teams such as Elon, Duke (RV), and Syracuse (RV). Wisconsin and Michigan each return to the grass circuit next week at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational. 

MID-ATLANTIC REGION

Projected AQs: No. 1 Georgetown, No. 2 West Virginia

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Penn, No. 4 Penn State, No. 5 Princeton

Note: There were no changes to the top-5 teams. 

MIDWEST REGION

Projected AQs: No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Iowa State

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Northwestern, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 5 Tulsa

Note: There were no changes to the top-5 teams. 

MOUNTAIN REGION

Projected AQs: No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 2 Colorado

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 BYU, No. 4 Utah, No. 5 Utah Valley

Note: Utah continues to climb the rankings. The Utes defeated regional rivals New Mexico and Colorado State at the Roy Griak Invitational, led by a fantastic third-place finish from true freshman Annastasia Peters. Utah came in second overall in the team race by just one point to national No. 22 California Baptist. Utah Valley moves ahead of New Mexico as the Lobos finished just sixth at Griak. 

NORTHEAST REGION

Projected AQs: No. 1 Providence, No. 2 Syracuse

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Harvard, No. 4 Columbia, No. 5 Northeastern

Note: Syracuse claims the second-place ranking in Week 2, pushing Harvard and Columbia down one slot each. The Syracuse Orange are lifted by a stellar performance at the Virginia Invitational, where they defeated national No. 10 North Carolina, No. 20 Ohio State, and No. 29 Northwestern to earn the tenth overall team spot in a high-caliber field. 

SOUTH REGION

Projected AQs: No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Ole Miss

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Lipscomb

Note: There were no changes to the top-5 teams. 

SOUTH CENTRAL REGION

Projected AQs: No. 1 Arkansas, No. 2 Tulane

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Texas, No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Texas A&M

Note: There were no changes to the top-5 teams. 

SOUTHEAST REGION

Projected AQs: No. 1 NC State, No. 2 Virginia

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Duke, No. 5 Furman 

Note: There were no changes to the top-5 teams. 

WEST REGION

Projected AQs: No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Washington 

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 California Baptist, No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Portland

Note: Plenty of action led to some major shakeups this week. The Stanford Cardinal reclaim the peak position at No. 1 thanks to an emphatic second place finish against a stacked field at the Virginia Invitational. Stanford bested regional foes and national No. 13 Washington by a margin of almost 30 points, and finished well ahead of other nationally ranked teams including Colorado (No. 5), North Carolina (No. 10), Virginia (No. 11) Georgetown (No. 12), Providence (No. 14), Michigan State (No. 15) and Iowa State (No. 26). Washington finished fourth at the Virginia Invitational to move up the rankings to claim the second projected automatic bid. CBU jumped to third after a resounding Roy Griak Invitational victory over rivals Portland and Boise State. Portland moved up two slots from seventh to fifth after finishing ahead of Boise State at Roy Griak by a slim two-point margin (113 to 115). Oregon slides down three positions but remained in the top-five after placing second at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, behind national No. 6 BYU and ahead of Oregon State.