2023 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 6
NEW ORLEANS – The postseason approaches!
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). There were some notable changes to the top-35, as teams make their final push to the postseason and next month’s NCAA DIII Championships.
NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Chicago
Chicago
2
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
3
Wartburg
Wartburg
4
Carleton
Carleton
5
NYU
NYU
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
The top-3 programs held their spots after a big weekend: No. 1 UChicago is still unanimous, followed by No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 3 Wartburg. The Maroons and the Knights both raced at the Augustana Interregional Invitational with the former making a huge statement thanks to a 20-point win over the latter. Reigning M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel gave UChicago the ultimate low stick with the individual title and the remaining four Maroons in the scoring lineup all placed inside the top-15.
Carleton and SUNY Geneseo swapped spots, as the former goes from No. 6 to No. 4 and the latter drops from No. 4 to No. 6. That’s rather fitting, since the Knights jousted at the Mike Woods Invitational this past weekend and Carleton came out ahead by ten points, 50-60. Depth won the day as the Minnesota-based Knights had four athletes in the top-10 (5-6-7-10).
Lynchburg soared seven spots from No. 15 to No. 8 after a third-place finish at the Mike Woods Invitational behind Carleton and SUNY Geneseo. The Hornets were buzzing thanks to three top-15 athletes, led by fourth-place finisher Kayla Werner.
Further down, Colorado College cracked the top-15 at No. 13. The Tigers were on the prowl at the Augustana Interregional and finished a clear fourth behind top-ranked UChicago, second-ranked Wartburg and now 11th-ranked Washington (Mo.). Colorado College was only one of three programs to put three or more athletes in the top-25 with its 10-22-24-39-53 finish.
Five other programs vaulted four or more spots in Week 6: Central (Iowa) went from No. 23 to No. 17 following a runner-up finish at the Connecticut College Invitational; Vassar went from No. 24 to No. 20 following a third-place finish in Connecticut; Emory went from No. 31 to No. 22 after winning the Rowan Inter-Region Border Battle; Connecticut College went from No. 30 to No. 26 behind a sixth-place finish at its home meet; and St. Lawrence went from No. 34 to No. 28 thanks to a seventh-place finish in Connecticut.
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 Newville, Pennsylvania.
