2023 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 5
NEW ORLEANS – How is it already mid-October?
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 drama-filled past few weeks has shifted the national landscape ahead of what promises to be an exciting end to the season.
Remember that this poll is conducted by counting votes from ten member coaches – one from each of the division’s ten regions – who also do the Regional Rankings.
NCAA Division III — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
North Central (Ill.)
North Central (Ill.)
2
UW-La Crosse
UW-La Crosse
3
MIT
MIT
4
UW-Whitewater
UW-Whitewater
5
Williams
Williams
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Good luck unseating North Central (Ill.) – at least for now. The unanimous Cardinals are perched atop the National Coaches’ Poll for the third time this season. North Central (Ill.) last competed at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational, where it notched a routine 28-point victory.
There was some movement behind the Cardinals, as UW-La Crosse and MIT now occupy the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively. Former No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer plummeted to No. 9. The Eagles are still soaring thanks to their strong effort at the Paul Short Run two weeks ago, while the Engineers reminded everybody that they’re still the reigning national champions after a dynamic victory at the Pre-Nationals Invitational. MIT won by 15 points and put four runners in the top-15. The Sagehens finished a distant fourth in Newville, Pennsylvania.
Further down in the National Coaches’ Poll, George Fox climbed three spots to an all-time program high No. 11 following its fifth-place showing at the Pre-Nationals Invitational. Peter Weiss led the Bruins in Pennsylvania with a top-10 finish (Weiss ended up taking eighth).
John Carroll is back in the top-35 for the first time since Week 1. The Blue Streaks propelled themselves to No. 22 thanks to an eighth-place finish at the Pre-Nationals Invitational. JCU was only one of six programs in the race to put all seven runners inside the top-100.
Get ready for some great racing at the Augustana Interregional Invitational on Saturday: No. 1 North Central (Ill.) squares off against No. 4 UW-Whitewater and No. 7 Wartburg, among others.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 18, because that’s when the 2023 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships will be hosted by Dickinson College at Big Spring High School in Newville, Pennsylvania.
