2025 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 2

NEW ORLEANS – They’re heating up.

Here is the newest edition of the NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for the 2025 season, as released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Regional Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams’ strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining a rank-order of squad potential. Only USTFCCCA member programs are eligible to receive a ranking. Teams with provisional status within the region may be ranked.

Regional Championships Saturday is set for November 15, which is where one team from each region will automatically qualify for the 2025 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships.

EAST REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Tufts

Next in Line: No. 2 MIT

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 WPI, No. 4 Bates, No. 5 Colby

Notes: Tufts holds the top spot in the East Region as it remained dominant against other divisional foes at the Purple Valley XC Classic in Williamstown, Massachusetts. With a five-point victory over nationally ranked RPI (eighth) and Williams (ninth), the Jumbos rose over the rest with a close gap of 46 seconds having their first five runners in the top fifteen overall.

MIT remains second after a strong effort at the Cardinal Invitational. The Engineers finished with five runners in the top 13 with a spread of 21 seconds. Behind MIT is WPI, Bates and Colby at No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5, respectively. The Bobcats turned in a winning performance at the Maine State Meet.

GREAT LAKES REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Hope

Next in Line: No. 2 Case Western Reserve

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Otterbein, No. 4 Mount Union, No. 5 John Carroll

Notes: Hope kept its hot streak alive as it competed at the George Dale Invite. The Flying Dutch competed against many mid-major NCAA DI institutions and placed sixth.

Case Western Reserve competed at DIII Pre-Nats meet and finished fourth overall behind three nationally ranked teams. Junior Jacob Slater remains as a low stick scorer as he finished fourth overall in 24:48.7. Otterbein stays at third in the region as they finished fourth overall at the All-Ohio Championships at Cedarville University and were the top NCAA DIII team at the meet. Mount Union remains fourth in the region, but John Carroll rises to claim the fifth ranking spot. John Carroll competed at the All-Ohio meet as well, and was not far behind Otterbein as John Carroll was just around five seconds back on average per spot compared to Otterbein.

METRO REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 TCNJ

Next in Line: No. 2 Moravian

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Swarthmore, No. 4 Haverford, No. 5 Rowan

Notes: TCNJ rises over Moravian after a head-to-head, 34-44 victory at the Osprey Open. The Lions did this over a 16 team field as they had a very strong pack with a 33 second gap.

Swarthmore remained third in the Metro as it beat Haverford and was fourth overall as a team at the Main Line Invite. The Garnet had a 33 second gap which will be useful as it looks to cement itself in a top three spot in the region. Haverford finished right behind Swarthmore at the Main Line Invite, while Rowan also competed at the Osprey Open.

MID-ATLANTIC REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Johns Hopkins

Next in Line: No. 2 Carnegie Mellon

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Lebanon Valley, No. 4 Dickinson, No. 5 Messiah

Notes: The top-four teams didn’t race this past weekend, but will at the upcoming Paul Short Run. Messiah ascended to the No. 5 ranking thanks to a win over Misericordia.

MIDEAST REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Williams

Next in Line: No. 2 RPI

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Wesleyan, No. 4 Amherst, No. 5 Middlebury

Notes: Williams takes the top spot in the Mideast region as it narrowly beat RPI by two points at the Purple Valley Classic. Sophomore Eli Welch led the way for the Ephs as he finished as the second collegian in 24:43.4, between Tufts’ first and second runner.

Wesleyan remains third in the Mideast as they tied with MIT at the Cardinal Invitational. Amherst also competed at the Cardinal Invite and remained at the fourth regional spot as they were behind Wesleyan. Middlebury competed at the Ron Hoffman Invitational and maintained their fifth regional spot.

MIDWEST REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Wartburg

Next in Line: No. 2 North Central (Ill.)

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 UChicago, No. 4 Washington (Mo.), No. 5 Loras

Notes: Wartburg didn’t compete, but the same can’t be said for the next four teams. North Central (Ill.) captured the team title over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at DIII Pre-Nats, while UChicago dominated the Gil Dodds Invitational. Washington (Mo.) took runner-up honors at the NCAA DI heavy John McNichols Invitational. Loras finished a strong third at the Bradley Intercollegiate in Peoria, Illinois, behind a blistering run by Isaac Bourne.

NIAGARA REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 SUNY Geneseo

Next in Line: No. 2 NYU

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 RIT, No. 4 Rochester (N.Y.), No. 5 Hamilton

Notes: SUNY Geneseo remains as the team to beat in the Niagara Region, even without its top squad. The Knights showcased their depth at the Yellowjacket Invitational as they won handily, even without their top-six runners.

NYU remains as Niagara’s second ranked team as they did not compete this weekend. RIT remains as the third ranked team as they had wins over Rochester (N.Y.) and Hamilton at the Yellowjacket Invitational. Rochester (N.Y.) ranks ahead of Hamilton in week one as they beat Hamilton and Ithaca in a head to head battle.

NORTH REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 UW-La Crosse

Next in Line: No. 2 St. Olaf

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 UW-Whitewater, No. 4 UW-Stevens Point, No. 5 UW-Platteville

Notes: UW-La Crosse holds steady at No. 1 after a routine victory at the St. Olaf Invitational. Host St. Olaf finished runner-up behind the Eagles despite a large spread between its top-five runners and seeing two of its top-seven runners not finishing the race.

UW-Whitewater cruised to victory at the Tom Hoffman Invitational, while UW-Stevens Point and UW-Platteville put in some work at the UWO Titan Classic and the Badger Classic.

SOUTH REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Washington & Lee

Next in Line: No. 2 Lynchburg

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Emory, No. 4 Pfeiffer, No. 5 Roanoke

Notes: Washington & Lee stay at the top of the South region with a third place performance at DIII Pre-Nats. Despite not racing their top returner, the Generals still held their own and look ahead to compete at the Paul Short Invitational. Lynchburg held steady at No. 2 after a strong effort at the adidas XC Challenge where they were led by Alex Jordan.

Emory did not compete this weekend and is still the third ranked team in the region. Pfeiffer ranks just below Emory once again as they are fourth in the South as they competed at DIII Pre-Nats. Roanoke rounds the top-five teams in the region as it didn’t compete this last weekend and also look to race Paul Short along with other teams in the region in two weeks.

WEST REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer

Next in Line: No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Colorado College, No. 4 UC Santa Cruz, No. 5 George Fox

Notes: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps continues to sit second behind an idle Pomona-Pitzer. The Stags took runner-up honors at DIII Pre-Nats behind North Central (Ill.) by only four points. A short spread behind junior Hayden Beauchemin paved the way for CMS’s success.

Colorado College remains third in the West, along with UC Santa Cruz remaining fourth, as both teams did not compete this past weekend. George Fox also stays at the fifth position in the rankings despite a great win showing solid depth and a short spread at the PLU Invitational.