2025 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 4

NEW ORLEANS – If you have not heard of Paul Short before reading this, you sure will now! 

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 remains at the top of the East after a close runner-up finish to Williams at the Keene State Invitational. The Jumbos exhibited a close overall spread as they worked as a team. MIT sits under Tufts again after competing in the White Race of the Paul Short Run. The Engineers saw three athletes finish in the top-40 overall.

WPI stays ahead of the rest of the region after competing in the White Race of the Paul Short Run. Bates remains at the fourth position as their biggest race of the season also at the Paul Short Run as Bates had a 26-second spread and is the closest in the East region. Colby rounded out the East region as they finished third at the Keene State Invitational behind Tufts and Williams. 

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 Rose Hulman

Notes: Hope ranked ahead of the rest of the Great Lakes as it put on a fantastic performance at the Blugold Invitational hosted by UW-Eau Claire. The Flying Dutch finished third overall with 119 points at the meet just behind UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point, who scored 104 and 111 points respectively. 

Case Western Reserve stays at the second position as they did not race their top squad at the Daniel Mullen Invitational. Otterbein won the Blue Race at the Tom Sawyer 8k as they beat Mount Union by two points, which means Mount Union resides in the fourth position in the region. Rose Hulman rose to fifth place in the region as they ran a smart race at Paul Short.  

METRO REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Swarthmore

Next in Line: No. 2 Moravian

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

Notes: Swarthmore rises to the top of the Metro as they defeat all other teams in the region that competed at the Paul Short Run with an overall competitive spread of 43-seconds. Moravian fell to the second position in the region as they lost to Swarthmore, yet beat other Metro teams. Rowan rose three places to the third position in the Metro as they had a close win over Haverford. TCNJ fell to the fifth position after losing to the teams above at the Paul Short Run. 

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: Johns Hopkins holds the top spot once again as the Blue Jays beat nationally ranked SUNY Geneseo in the Gold race at the Paul Short Run. National title contender Emmanuel Leblond ran 23:23 and led the way for outstanding performances by other teammates, three of whom were freshmen. Carnegie Mellon finishes in the White Race of the Paul Short Run and ranks second in the region once again. The Tartans competed with a short spread of 38-seconds overall.

Lebanon Valley ranks third in the Mid-Atlantic as they competed in the White Race of the Paul Short Run as they beat other intraregional teams MIT, Loras and Wesleyan. Dickinson also competed in the White race and beat every team in the Metro region, as Dickinson ranks fourth in the Mid-Atlantic. Messiah rounded out the region in fifth as they competed and beat other intraregional teams. 

MIDEAST REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Williams

Next in Line: No. 2 RPI

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

Notes: Williams continues to lead the Mideast Region as the Ephs competed at the Keene State Invitational as they beat Tufts by one point. The Ephs also exhibit an impressive 22-second spread against their nationally ranked opponent and look to continue to be ranked highly in the nation. RPI competed in the Gold Race at the Paul Short run and finished 26th with a 34-second spread behind Geneseo who was 22nd overall.

Amherst rose into the third position as they placed second behind NYU in the White Race of Paul Short and had a 40-second spread. Wesleyan ranked fourth in the region as they placed ninth in the White Race. Middlebury also competed in the White Race and finished tenth overall, just behind Wesleyan. 

MIDWEST REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Wartburg

Next in Line: No. 2 North Central

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

Notes: Wartburg continues to dominate the Midwest as the Knights win their home meet, the Dan Huston Invitational, with Junior Isaiah Hammerand leading the way for his teammates. North Central (Ill.) stayed in the second position as they traveled for the Louisville Classic and finished seventh overall against DI and DII teams.

UChicago remained in the top three as they traveled to Notre Dame’s Joe Piane Invitational with a breakthrough win in the Gold Race as they had a 42-second spread. Washington (Mo.) was idle and stayed ranking fourth as they did not race. Loras stayed in the fifth position as they traveled to the Paul Short Run and beat Colorado College and Wesleyan.

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 Ithaca

Notes: NYU dethrones SUNY Geneseo in the rankings this week as the Violets looked lethal in the White Race of the Paul Short Run with a 22-second spread and look to gain a higher national ranking. SUNY Geneseo fell to the second ranking as the Knights were without Pierce Young in their lineup. Despite this, the Knights beat other nationally ranked opponents in the Gold Race of the Paul Short Run.

RIT remains at the third ranking in the region as they did not compete. Rochester (N.Y.) held their ground as they raced at the Kara Hall Memorial and remained fourth in the Niagara. Ithaca rose up to round out the top five teams in the region as they beat Hamilton in the White Race of the Paul Short Run.

NORTH REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 UW-La Crosse

Next in Line: No. 2 UW-Platteville

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 UW-Stevens Point, No. 4 St. Olaf, No. 5 UW-Oshkosh

Notes: UW-La Crosse continues their hold on the North Region as the Eagles competed at both the Joe Piane Invitational with their top squad, led by Grant Matthai in 23:17, and their second squad competed at the Blugold Invitational. UW-Platteville rises up to rank second in the North after a commanding, yet narrow win at the Blugold Invitational. 

UW-Stevens Point rose to third in the region after beating out St. Olaf and UW-Whitewater, also at the Blugold Invitational. St. Olaf falls to fourth in the region after being beaten out by three northern teams. UW-Oshkosh rounds out the top five and rose in the rankings after beating out UW-Whitewater.

SOUTH REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Washington and Lee

Next in Line: No. 2 Lynchburg

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

Notes: Washington and Lee continues to lead the South Region after competing at the Paul Short Run over other regional teams. Lynchburg has a strong performance also at the Paul Short Run after only falling short of Washington & Lee by one point. Emory, Pfeiffer, and Roanoke all stay in their respective order in the South. They all competed at the Paul Short Run as they all had very similar spreads among their top five.

WEST REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer

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

Also in the Hunt: No. UC Santa Cruz, No. 4 Colorado College, No. 5 Redlands

Notes: Pomona Pitzer competed at their home invite against CMS as the Sagehens still rank ahead of the Stags. CMS remains as second to Pomona-Pitzer as they did not run their top squad. UC Santa Cruz remains in the third position as they did not compete. Colorado College stays at their ranking in fourth as they competed in the Paul Short Run. Redlands rose in the rankings to round out the top five teams as they competed at the Willamette Charles Bowles meet in Salem, Oregon after beating out various other teams from the West.