2023 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1

NEW ORLEANS – And they’re off and running!

Here is the newest edition of the NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, as released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). There weren’t any changes at the top of the National Coaches’ Poll in Week 1, but the same couldn’t be said for the rest of the top-10 since the preseason.

NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country

This Week's National Top Five

1
Wartburg

2
Chicago

3
MIT

4
Johns Hopkins

5
Carleton

Cross Country Polls & Rankings

NATIONAL POLL

REGIONAL RANKINGS

View Men's Post

Wartburg and UChicago still hold down the top-2 spots of the index at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. The Knights are unanimous favorites to win the national title come November 18 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, while the Maroons are expected to be their toughest competition. Both Wartburg and UChicago opened their seasons already in dominating fashion: the former at the John Kurtt Invitational with 17 points; the latter with a sweep at the St. Francis Saints Twilight.

MIT and Johns Hopkins both shifted up one spot to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Both the Engineers and the Blue Jays recently finished runner-up against stout NCAA DI competition.

Carleton didn’t budge from No. 5 and posted a strong result at the Clash of the Island Northwest. The Knights packed up behind Sophie McManus (12th place) with runners in scoring positions 19-20-21-24 and posted a meager 37-second spread.

Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 1: No. 6 Washington (Mo.), No. 7 SUNY Geneseo, No. 8 UW-La Crosse, No. 9 St. Olaf and No. 10 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Right outside of the top-10, Vassar soared from the Land of the Unranked to No. 13 following a dynamic showing at the Ron Stonitsch Invitational where it beat Williams head-to-head.

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.