2023 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – The winds of change were felt!
Here is the newest edition of the NCAA DIII Women’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). Remember that this poll is conducted by tabulating votes by ten member coaches, those who also do the division’s Regional Rankings each week.
NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Chicago
Chicago
2
Wartburg
Wartburg
3
MIT
MIT
4
Carleton
Carleton
5
SUNY Geneseo
SUNY Geneseo
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Welcome to the top spot, UChicago. The unanimous top-ranked Maroons imposed their will this past weekend at the Gil Dodds Invitational. UChicago swept the proceedings as they were led by individual champion Maddie Kelly in 21:12.4. There were two other ranked teams in the field as then-sixth-ranked Washington (Mo.) took second with 58 points and then-27th-ranked Hope was a distant third with 81 points.
Former No. 1 Wartburg, which is now No. 2, waged a hard-fought battle against NCAA DI Illinois State at the Redbird Invitational. Led by an individual title by Lexi Brown, the Knights put three runners in the top-5 but couldn’t overcome the Redbirds’ depth (Illinois State put four runners in the top-15, compared to just three for Wartburg. The Redbirds won 44.59).
Carleton inched closer to the top at No. 4, while SUNY Geneseo cracked the top-5 for the first time this season at No. 5. The Minnesota-based Knights were champions at the Running of the Cows, outpointing eighth-ranked UW-La Crosse, 43-48. The New York-based Knights were a close second at the Yellowjacket Invitational behind NCAA DI Cornell. As Carleton and SUNY Geneseo improved their standing, three-time defending champion Johns Hopkins fell two spots to No. 6, which is its lowest ranking since Week 3 in 2012.
Right outside the top-10, you’ll find No. 11 NYU, No. 12 Amherst and No. 13 Hope. Both the Violets and the Mammoths climbed three spots following strong efforts this past weekend with the Flying Dutch surging 14 places after its third-place showing at the Gil Dodds Invitational.
Other notable moves included UW-Eau Claire jumping nine spots from No. 30 to No. 21 and Wittenberg going from No. 35 to No. 25. Both the Blugolds and the Tigers impressed this past weekend with a runner-up effort at the St. Olaf Invitational for the former and the latter posting the best finish by an NCAA DIII squad at the All-Ohio Intercollegiate XC Championships.
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.
