2023 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 3
NEW ORLEANS – The season is ramping up!
Here is the newest edition of the NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll for the 2023 season, as released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). A few notable results changed the complexion of the top-10 between Week 2 and Week 3, but you can be assured we’ll see a lot more between Week 3 and Week 4.
NCAA Division III — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Pomona-Pitzer
Pomona-Pitzer
2
North Central (Ill.)
North Central (Ill.)
3
UW-La Crosse
UW-La Crosse
4
UW-Whitewater
UW-Whitewater
5
Williams
Williams
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
The top-3 teams held steady from the previous week: Pomona-Pitzer headlines the index for the second week in a row and hauled in nine first-place votes from the electorate; North Central (Ill.) continues to reside at No. 2 and holds the lone remaining first-place vote; UW-La Crosse remains third, truly within shouting distance of both the Sagehens and Cardinals.
Despite not racing this past weekend, UW-Whitewater jumped two spots to No. 4. That had a lot to do with what the team ranked right behind the Warhawks did: No. 5 Williams. The Ephs took down reigning national champion MIT at the Purple Valley Classic. Williams climbed six spots following its victory, while the Engineers tumbled five spots down to No. 8.
Further down in the rankings, Calvin improved five spots from No. 33 to No. 28. The Knights were a game runner-up at the Dickinson Long-Short Invitational. Calvin finished just 15 points behind former No. 8 Carnegie Mellon on the same course that will host November’s NCAA Championships. The Knights were led by a fifth-place finish by junior Thaine Nederveld.
This weekend promises to make an impact on the National Coaches’ Poll, as ranked teams flock to both the Blugold Invitational on Friday and both the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic and the Paul Short Run on Saturday, among others. Pay close attention to the College Male Gold race at the Paul Short Run since that’s where No. 3 UW-La Crosse squares off against No. 6 SUNY Geneseo, No. 9 Carnegie Mellon, No. 12 Johns Hopkins and No. 18 Lynchburg.
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.
