2025 NCAA DII Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 5
NEW ORLEANS – Here is the newest edition of the NCAA DII Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for the 2025 season, which are released every Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Teams from across the country flocked to Illinois this past weekend to compete in the Lewis Crossover to battle it out in a national caliber field one last time before the postseason.
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 East Stroudsburg, No. 3 Kutztown
Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Edinboro, No. 5 Slippery Rock
Notes: No. 1 Davis & Elkins and No. 2 East Stroudsburg are both set to race next on October 25th at the Mountain East Championships and PSAC Championships respectively. Kutztown rose to third overall after resting its key returners this week, and running four individuals at the 42nd Annual DeSales University Cross Country Invitational. The Golden Bears were led by an eighth place finish from freshmen Aubrey Carlson at this meet. The CMU Invitational 5km saw No. 4 Edinboro defeat regional rivals No 5. Slippery Rock and No 8. Point Park. The Fighting Scots won this meet by a 54 point margin with a strong pack effort with a 43 second gap between their scorers. The Rock placed third at this meet with a 47 second spread without one of its front runners.
Central Region
Projected AQs: No. 1 Winona State, No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney, No. 3 Pittsburg State
Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Northwest Missouri, No. 5 Missouri Southern.
Notes: No. 1 Winona State maintained its position after its consistent performances. Nebraska-Kearney rose one spot to be ranked second after its result at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival two weeks ago. Pittsburg State finished fifth at the Lewis Crossover, but had a large gap between its first and fifth runners, which led to the program dropping one spot. The Gorillas showed promise with their strong front running performances from Paige Mullen (third), and Hannah Gibson (fifth). Both No. 4. Northwest Missouri and No. 5 Missouri Southern remain poised to be in the regional championship conversation after not racing this past week.
East Region
Projected AQs: No. 1 Roberts Wesleyan, No. 2 Southern Connecticut State, No. 3 Jefferson (Pa.)
Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Daemen, No. 5 D’Youville
Notes: The projected automatic qualifiers were all stable this week with the top two ranked teams focusing on training this past week. No. 3 Jefferson was third at its home meet (behind two post collegiate teams), which saw the return of one of their key low sticks, Natalie McFadden. She contributed to the Rams’ pack running with a gap of 15 seconds for its second to fourth runners. No. 4 Daemen rose one position after narrowly defeating D’Youville 177-184 at the NY Highlander Invitational. D’Youville also rose one spot to be back in the hunt for the regional championship.
Midwest Region
Projected AQs: No. 1 Grand Valley State University, No. 2 Cedarville, No. 3 Lewis
Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Northern Michigan, No. 5 Walsh
Notes: The Midwest Region was stable in Week 5 with the top three teams displaying why they are in the automatic qualifying positions. No. 1 Grand Valley State did not race this week, meanwhile No. 2 Cedarville crushed the UAH Chargers XC Invitational with an almost perfect score of 18, and 21:11 average time. The Yellow Jackets placed an impressive six runners in front of South Region’s No 2. Lee (Tenn.) second scorer, and eleven runners in front of their third scorer. Cedarville’s team was led by senior Corrie Lynch (second) and junior Emily Walsh (third). No. 3 Lewis was runner up to Chico State at its stacked home meet. Notably, the Flyers exhibited a powerful pack of frontrunners with three scorers in the top twelve: Mary Edwards (seventh), Josephine Bober (eighth), and Madilyn Calloway (12th). Northern Michigan was ranked fourth this week, after a close win at the Royals Cross Country Challenge 5k over Catawba. The Wildcats scored 39 points after placing their top five in the top 15 with an average time of 17:37. No. 5 Walsh dropped one place after an eighth place finish at the Lewis Crossover.
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: This region’s top five teams remained the same after some strong racing. No. 1 Tampa thrived at the Lewis Crossover with a tight 13 second gap, and an average time of 22:28. The Spartans defeated nationally ranked No. 10 Walsh and No. 11 Fort Lewis with a seventh place finish. No 2. Lee (Tenn) opted to compete at the UAH Chargers XC Invitational where it placed runner up with 76 points. The Flames, led by a fourth-place finish by senior Maria Mitchell, were able to beat many regional rivals including No 5. Nova Southeastern, Alabama Huntsville, and West Florida to name a few. No. 3 Palm Beach Atlantic finished 13th at the Lewis Crossover without racing its top runner, Jen Corroy with an average time of 22:51.
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: All top five regionally ranked teams maintained their respective places this week. Both No. 1 Colorado School of Mines and No. 3 Adams State took a similar approach by resting their top five starters when they competed at FHSU Tiger Open 5k. The Orediggers won the meet with an average time of 18:14, whilst the Grizzlies placed runner up with an average time of 18:18. No 4. Western Colorado & No 5. UCCS competed at UCCS’s home meet where the Mountaineers placed three runners ahead of UCCS’s first scorer.
Southeast Regional
Projected AQs: No. 1 Wingate, No. 2 Catawba, No. 3 Flagler
Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Anderson (S.C.), No. 5 Lincoln Memorial
Notes: The two top ranked Southeast Regional teams raced at the Royals Cross Country Challenge. No 2. Catawba placed second with a score of 47 points, whilst No. 1 Wingate came tenth after resting their top runners. Catawba was only defeated by nationally ranked No. 16 Northern Michigan by eight points. The Indians had a strong pack performance with a 47 second gap, and an average time of 17:39. No. 3 Flagler placed 12th in the deep Lewis Crossover meet, showing a significant improvement from its performance at the FSU Invitational. No. 4 Anderson (S.C.) came fifth and No. 5 Lincoln Memorial came ninth at the UAH Chargers XC Invitational.
West Regional
Projected AQs: No. 1 Chico State, No. 2 Stanislaus State, No. 3 Biola
Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Western Washington, No. 5 Alaska Anchorage
Notes: Four of the top-five teams in the region competed at the Lewis Crossover. No. 1 Chico State emerged as not only the top team in the region, but in the meet as it captured the team title – 40 points ahead of the runner-up. The Wildcats activated Iriesh Molina after removing her redshirt and it paid off as she was the team’s top runner. No. 3 Biola took third in Illinois thanks to a strong effort by Bethany Mapes in sixth overall. No. 4 Western Washington placed sixth, while No. 5 Alaska Anchorage took ninth and was rewarded with a four-spot improvement in the rankings.
