2023 NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – The weekend was packed to the brim with high-stakes action, and that momentum led to no want for shakeup in the national polls!
Here is the Week 4 edition of the NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll for the 2023 season, as released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Remember that this poll is conducted by counting votes from 11 member coaches – one from each of the division’s nine regions (who also do the regional rankings) – as well as two members from the NCAA Cross Country Executive Committee.
NCAA Division I — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona
2
NC State
NC State
3
Georgetown
Georgetown
4
BYU
BYU
5
Stanford
Stanford
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Give the nation’s best collegiate teams six weeks, and Northern Arizona will spend the first four sharpening the ax. The Lumberjacks have summited the National Coaches’ Poll for the first time in program history, as they are unanimously the No. 1 team following their dominant victory at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. While star Elise Stearns came in fourth place individually to get the ball rolling, the rest of the Lumberjacks followed in quick succession, going 8-10-12-18.
No. 2 NC State may have dropped one position, but the Wolfpack still had a solid day at Nuttycombe. The tried-and-true combo of Katelyn Tuohy (second) and Kelsey Chimel (third) secured low-stick points, and three underclassmen athletes all scored in the top-50.
No. 3 Georgetown skipped the top-10 entirely and flew right into the top-3. The Hoyas had themselves a day against the nation’s best at Nuttycombe and defeated multiple top-billed teams to earn a third-place team finish. Georgetown delivered when it mattered, evidenced by Maggie Donahue blitzing 35 places (89th to 54th) over the final kilometer to help push them ahead.
No. 4 BYU moved up two places after a statement victory at the XC23 Pre-Nationals Invitational. The Cougars swept away a strong field, led by an individual champion in Carmen Alder and the rest of their athletes going 5-7-9-10. That allowed BYU to soundly defeat runner-up Arkansas and third-place Virginia. No. 5 Stanford remains the only top-5 team to stay in place this week.
Many familiar faces remain in the top-10 with positions shuffled. Oklahoma State claims No. 6, Florida enjoys a boost from a third-place Nuttycombe finish to move to No. 7, which ties its best rank since 2010, and Notre Dame takes No. 8. There is a fresh face in No. 9, as Oregon State chopped a jaw dropping 21 places off last week’s ranking to move from No. 30 to a program-record No. 9 after a seventh-place finish at Nuttycombe. Virginia rounds out at No. 10.
Other notable changes include: No. 11 Arkansas (second at Pre-Nationals); No. 14 Oregon (third at Pre-Nationals); No. 16 Lipscomb (tenth at Nuttycombe); No. 18 Ole Miss (12th at Nuttycombe).
Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 18, because that’s when the 2023 NCAA DI Cross Country Championships will be held at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Virginia.
