2025 NCAA DII Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 4

NEW ORLEANS – Welcome to Week 4 of the NCAA DII Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for the 2025 season. Regional Rankings are released every Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

This week had a few major meets in the Paul Short Run and Louisville Classic for those who did not race at Pre-Nationals, whilst other teams spent the week preparing for the next few weeks of competition.

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 Saturday, November 8.

Atlantic Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Davis & Elkins, No. 2 Slippery Rock, No. 3 East Stroudsburg 

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Kutztown, No. 5 Edinboro

Notes: The Senators remained on top of the Atlantic region this week after a 22^nd place finish at the Louisville Classic with a 42 second spread. Davis & Elkins was defeated by nationally ranked West Texas A&M, Catawba, Cedarville, and UW-Parkside in this race. The Rock did not race this week, but will look to compete this weekend at the CMU invitational against regional rivals No. 5 Edinboro, and No. 10 Point Park. No. 3 East Stroudsburg is ranked within an automatic qualifying spot after finishing 18^th as the top DII women’s team in the Brown 6k at the Paul Short Run. The Warriors were led by Payton Falkenstein’s 15^th place finish, which contributed to a score of 505 points, narrowly beating No. 4 Kutztown (513 points). 

Central Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Winona State, No. 2 Pittsburg State, No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Northwest Missouri, No. 5 Missouri Southern.

Notes: Winona State built upon their momentum from their outstanding Roy Griak performance by perfect scoring at the Griffon Invite where they placed eight runners in the top ten led by Sophia Taarud. No. 2 Pittsburg State is set to compete at the Lewis Crossover on October 11. Nebraska-Kearney, Northwest Missouri, and Missouri Southern all squared off at the Chile Pepper Festival, and finished in that order, hence the rankings. The Lopers were aided by the return of Ella Buhlke, while the Bearcats saw Lydia McGlocklin turn in a strong individual effort.

East Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Roberts Wesleyan, No. 2 Southern Connecticut State, No. 3 Jefferson (Pa.)

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 St. Anslem, No. 5 Daemen

Notes: Roberts Wesleyan stays in first, as we head into October. The RedHawks will take a couple of weeks away from competition, with their next race scheduled for October 18. Southern Connecticut State and No 3. Jefferson both competed at the Paul Short Run, although in different sections. SCSU backed up its ranking with a 23-minute average time, one minute 37 second spread, and a 23^rd place finish in the Brown 6k. The Owls were defeated by East Stroudsburg and Kutztown. No. 3 Jefferson placed runner up in the Green 6k, with a 23:55 average time for their scores, led by Olivia Grahn’s sixth place finish. The Hawks rested their key scorers this weekend, but showed improvements at the Keene State Invitational. Daemen moved up one spot to be ranked fifth this week.

Midwest Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Grand Valley State University, No. 2 Cedarville, No. 3 Lewis

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Walsh, No. 5 Northern Michigan

Notes: GVSU had an exceptional race at the Joe Piane Invitational with a fourth place finish against many Division I teams and beat Liberty, Ohio, Bradley, and Cincinnati, among others. The Lakers scored 161 points, with a jaw dropping average time of 16:53, and a tight spread of 39 seconds. Cedarville was fifth at the Louisville Classic, only 66 points behind nationally ranked West Texas A&M with a similar tight pack and an average time of 17:35. The rest of this region did not race this week. However, with the Lewis Crossover meet on the horizon, you can expect to see six out of the ten regionally ranked teams battle it out this weekend.

South Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Tampa, No. 2 Lee (Tenn.), No. 3 Palm Beach Atlantic

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Mississippi College, No. 5 Nova Southeastern

Notes: The South Region saw no movement in the teams’ ranks as automatic qualifiers this week with many teams dormant from competition. The Spartans will travel to the stacked Lewis Crossover meet this weekend. No. 2 Lee (Tenn.) will race at their regional rival’s home meet the UAH Invitational this weekend. Palm Beach Atlantic maintains its third position, but lost to upset-minded Nova Southeastern at the 26^th FLRunners.Com Invitational. The Saltfish appeared to rest their regular top seven scorers in preparation for the Lewis Crossover meet this weekend. 

The Choctaws rose one position to fourth after an eighth place finish at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival, where they defeated Northwest Missouri, UAB, and Missouri Southern.

South Central Regional

Projected AQs: No. 1 Colo. School of Mines, No. 2 West Texas A&M, No. 3 Adams State

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Western Colorado, No. 5 UC-Colorado Springs

Notes: The South Central region was stable this week with no changes across the rankings of the entire top ten regionally ranked teams. 

No 1. Colorado School of Mines rested this week, but will compete next at FHSU Tiger Open on October 11. West Texas A&M maintains its dominance with a third place finish at the Louisville Classic gold meet with an average time of 17:21, and a 42 second gap between its scorers. The Buffaloes defeated Cedarville and Catawba. CSU Pueblo and MSU Denver both ran the regional preview last week.

Southeast Regional

 Projected AQs: No. 1 Wingate, No. 2 Catawba, No. 3 Flagler

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Anderson, No. 5 Lincoln Memorial

Notes: Wingate showed outstanding progress from last year’s Paul Short Run performance with a 16^th place finish beating many Division I teams including Brown, UMass Amherst, and La Selle. This performance was highlighted by tight pack running (a nine second gap between their second and fifth scorer), and progress with their seventh team member this year running the same time as their third scorer last year. Catawba was seventh overall in the Gold 6k at the Louisville Classic to stabilize their third place ranking with a strong one-two punch in Hannah Caudill, and Madison Clay. Flagler will race the Lewis Crossover meet this week.

West Regional

Projected AQs: No. 1 Stanislaus State, No. 2 Chico State, No. 3 CAL Poly Pomona

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Biola, No. 5 Western Washington

Notes: The West Region had no changes to any of the ranking places in Week Four. No. 1 Stanislaus State, and No. 2 Chico State did not race the past week. The Broncos’ raced the same team from their pre-nationals line up at the Pomona Pitzer 6km Invite where they won the meet with a 38 second spread.