2024 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 6
NEW ORLEANS – One of the biggest jumps in the history of the NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll highlights the newest edition, which was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA).
National Coaches’ Polls are presented by AthleticNET.
NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
MIT
MIT
2
Colorado College
Colorado College
3
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
4
NYU
NYU
5
Emory
Emory
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Let’s start at the top, though, where No. 1 MIT continues to dominate its races. The Engineers traveled to Waterford, Connecticut, for the Connecticut College Invitational and came home with the team title after a resounding victory. Junior Lexi Fernandez’s tenth-place finish in a time of 21:25 helped MIT score 83 points, 18 fewer than runner-up NYU. The Engineers will be back in action at the NEWMAC Championships on November 2.
Colorado College showed why it was ranked No. 1 for two weeks and now No. 2 for several more. The Tigers continue to impress since their record-breaking rise to the top, most recently racing to victory at the Augustana Interregional Invitational. Piloted by senior Isabel Olson’s individual title in a time of 21:07, the Tigers won by 50 points over Washington (Mo.). Colorado College has great momentum going into the SCAC Conference Championships next weekend.
Johns Hopkins improved from No. 4 to No. 3 in Week 6. The Blue Jays dominated the Rowan Interregional Border Battle, winning with an almost perfect team score of 18 points. JHU will travel to Carlisle, Pennsylvania for the Centennial Conference Championships on November 2.
NYU and Emory round out the top-5 for Week 6. The Violets placed runner-up as a team at the Connecticut College Invitational, only 18 points behind MIT. The Eagles came out on top at the Upstate Invite, beating numerous NCAA Division I teams.
Williams rocketed ten places to take over the No. 6 spot in Week 6 after finishing just five points behind NYU for a third-place team finish at the Connecticut College Invitational.
Further down in the top-30, Washington and Lee soared an astonishing 18 places to land at No. 12 spot in Week 6. The Generals had a superb race at the Connecticut College Invitational, placing fourth. Sophomore Olivia Warr took third overall in a time of 21:09 and helped the Generals upset seven teams that were ranked ahead of them in Week 5.
Don’t look now, but the 2024 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships are exactly one month away! The meet will be held on Saturday, November 23, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Gwyneth Young is a junior studying criminal justice and communications at Elizabethtown College. She is a distance runner on the Blue Jays cross country and track and field teams, where her main events are the 1500 and the 5000. She is originally from Lebanon, Pennsylvania and graduated from Cedar Crest High School, where she ran cross country and track and field as well.
