2025 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 1

NEW ORLEANS – Cross country is rolling along!

Here is the newest edition of the NCAA DIII Women’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.

East Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 MIT

Next in Line: No. 2 Tufts

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Suffolk (Mass.), No. 4 Bowdoin, No. 5 Wellesley

Notes: Bowdoin jumped one spot to No. 4, while Bates tumbled three spots to No. 6. The Polar Bears didn’t race their full squad at the CBB Tri-Meet, but won with 21 points regardless.

Great Lakes Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Trine

Next in Line: No. 2 Calvin

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Ohio Wesleyan, No. 4 Hope, No. 5 Case Western Reserve

Notes: Top-ranked Trine, second-ranked Calvin, and third-ranked Ohio Wesleyan all looked impressive in victory early in the season. The Thunder posted an impressive 28-second gap between its No. 1 and No. 5 runners at the Mastadon XC Alumni Open, while the Knights packed up at the Diemer Classic, and the Battling Bishops won the Port Kenyon Opener.

Metro Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Swarthmore

Next in Line: No. 2 Rowan

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 TCNJ, No. 4 Moravian, No. 5 Stockton

Notes: Rowan and TCNJ swapped spots with the former going to No. 2 and the latter to No. 3.

Mid-Atlantic Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Johns Hopkins

Next in Line: No. 2 Carnegie Mellon

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Gettysburg, No. 4 Misericordia, No. 5 Salisbury

Notes: The only notable change among the top-five teams was Misericordia jumping two spots from No. 6 to No. 4. The Cougars looked strong at a pair of home meets thus far, winning the Misericordia Invitational with 21 points and the Cougar Classic with 20 points.

Mideast Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Williams

Next in Line: No. 2 Amherst

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Connecticut College, No. 4 Vassar, No. 5 RPI

Notes: There were no changes to the top-five teams in Week 1.

Midwest Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 UChicago

Next in Line: No. 2 Washington (Mo.)

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Wartburg, No. 4 Central (Iowa), No. 5 Grinnell

Notes: Dominance was on display by teams in the Midwest Region. UChicago made quick work of the competition at the Lewis Early Bird, while Washington (Mo.) and Central (Iowa) took down all comers at the Gabby Reuveni Invite and Les Duke Invitational, respectively. The Maroons had ten of the top-12 finishers at their meet and WashU had a 1-5 spread of just ten seconds.

Niagara Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 NYU

Next in Line: No. 2 SUNY Geneseo

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Hamilton, No. 4 SUNY Brockport, No. 5 RIT

Notes: Nothing changed amongst the top-two teams, but there was some shuffling in spots No. 3 through No. 5. Hamilton jumped one spot to No. 3 after a runner-up showing at its own Short Course Invitational, while SUNY Brockport went from unranked to No. 5 after a victory over RIT and Rochester (N.Y.) at the Tom Balon Alumni Classic. The Engineers improved three spots from No. 8 to No. 5 following their aforementioned effort.

North Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 UW-La Crosse

Next in Line: No. 2 Carleton

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 St. Olaf, No. 4 UW-Eau Claire, No. 5 UW-Whitewater

Notes: Carleton leapfrogged St. Olaf into the No. 2 spot behind top-ranked UW-La Crosse. The Knights won the Hamline Invitational in convincing fashion as Hannah Preisser led the way with the individual title in 21:40. Carleton’s second through fifth runners all finished within 21 seconds of each other and gave the squad the victory with just 19 points over runner-up Macalester.

South Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Washington and Lee

Next in Line: No. 2 Emory

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Rhodes, No. 4 Christopher Newport, No. 5 Berry

Notes: The top-two teams held their spots, but the same can’t be said for the rest of the top-five. Rhodes soared six spots from No. 9 to No. 3 after a third-place finish at the Coach Bob Gravett Invitational. Christopher Newport improved two spots from No. 6 to No. 4 following its victory at the CNU XC Open. Berry worked on its strength over the 8k distance at its home meet.

West Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

Next in Line: No. 2 UC Santa Cruz

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Colorado College, No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer, No. 5 George Fox

Notes: The only change to the top-five teams was Pomona-Pitzer leapfrogging George Fox into the No. 4 position. The Sagehens most recently raced at the Cougar Challenge.