2023 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – Things are a-changing.
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 new No. 1 team tops the national index in Week 4 and numerous other alterations befell the top-35 after a big week of racing across the nation.
NCAA Division III — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
North Central (Ill.)
North Central (Ill.)
2
Pomona-Pitzer
Pomona-Pitzer
3
UW-La Crosse
UW-La Crosse
4
UW-Whitewater
UW-Whitewater
5
Williams
Williams
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
North Central (Ill.) usurped Pomona-Pitzer between Week 3 and Week 4, based on a strong effort at the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic. The Cardinals flew to a fifth-place finish in the Bluegrass State thanks largely to Max Svienty, who finished sixth overall. NCC has now been ranked No. 1 in the National Coaches’ Poll a staggering 29 times since the 2017 season.
Nothing changed in the rest of the top-5: UW-La Crosse is No. 3, followed by No. 4 UW-Whitewater and No. 5 Williams. Both the Eagles and the Warhawks competed this past weekend to solid results. UW-La Crosse ran its best squad in the Men’s College Gold 8k at the Paul Short Run and finished seventh in an NCAA DI-loaded field. UW-Whitewater rolled to the team title at the Blugold Invitational behind an individual title from reigning M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week Christian Patzka.
Elsewhere in the top-10, Carnegie Mellon improved three spots from No. 9 to No. 6 and St. Olaf cracked the upper echelon for the first time this season – and the first time since 2016 – at No. 10. The Tartans finished 13th in the Men’s College Gold 8k at the Paul Short Run, while the Oles proved to be a game runner-up to UW-Whitewater at the Blugold Invitational.
Other notable changes included Lynchburg jumping six spots from No. 18 to No. 12, NYU soaring from No. 31 to No. 19 and Central (Iowa) cracking the top-25 at No. 24. Both the Hornets and the Violets competed at the Paul Short Run with the former taking 20th in the Men’s College Gold 8k and the latter finishing eighth in the Men’s College Brown 8k. The Dutch were second at the Dan Hutson Invitational behind Wartburg.
There will be 11 ranked teams squaring off at the DIII Pre-Nationals this weekend: No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer, No. 5 Williams, No. 8 MIT, No. 9 RPI, No. 13 Mount Union, No. 14 George Fox, No. 20 Tufts, No. 27 Amherst, No. 30 Haverford, No. 34 SUNY Brockport and No. 35 Hope.
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.
