2025 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 5

NEW ORLEANS – Most regions remain quieter than last week as DIII prepares for a BIG week six!

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 Babson

Notes: Tufts continues to sit atop the East region along with MIT and WPI to follow in the next ranked positions. Tufts competed at the NEICAAA Championships as they did not race their top six men. Bates did not race their varsity as they competed at the Hopkinton CC Festival. Babson moved up to the fifth position ranking as it surpassed Colby.

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 remains at the top spot of the Great Lakes over all the rest as they remain idle and did not race this past weekend. Hope looks ahead to race at the Augustana Interregional in Rock Island, Ill. Case Western, Otterbein, Mount Union, and Rose-Hulman also remain in their respective spots to round out the region as they all did not race.

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, Moravian, Rowan, and Haverford all kept their respective rankings in the Metro and did not race. The previously mentioned teams will all compete at the Rowan Border Battle this upcoming weekend. TCNJ did not compete with their top seven runners, yet competed at the NJIT XC Invite with an average spread of 48-seconds.

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 once again ranks at the highest position in the Mid-Atlantic as they did not race, yet look ahead to the meet at Connecticut College. Carnegie Mellon follows up as they are ranked in second. They raced six members of their second squad at their home meet with a spread of 36-seconds. Lebanon Valley, Dickinson, and Messiah round out the remaining teams for the region as they all did not race and look ahead to race at Rowan and Connecticut College.

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 ranks first in the region once again as they opted to not race their top runners, and instead had the rest of their team race at the James Earley Invite at Westfield State. RPI, Amherst, Wesleyan, and Middlebury all look to stay at their previous rankings as they did not compete this past weekend. These teams look ahead to race at the Connecticut College Invitational, with RPI choosing to go to the Augustana Interregional Invite.

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 ranks ahead of the rest once again along with North Central and UChicago to follow as the top three teams in the Midwest did not race. Washington (Mo.) competed at the Principia Twilight and won the meet with a perfect score despite not running the top ten of their team. Loras rounds out the region in fifth as many Midwest teams look ahead to the Augustana Interregional Invitational.

NIAGARA REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 NYU

Next in Line: No. 2 SUNY Geneseo

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

Notes: NYU and SUNY Geneseo both stay idle as both teams did not compete, yet are poised to compete against each other at the Connecticut College Invitational. RIT won the Houghton Highlander meet as they remain in the third ranking. Rochester (N.Y.) did not compete and remained fourth as Ithaca also remained in fifth as they sat their top athletes and competed against RIT. 

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: The Eagles of UW-La Crosse remain at the top of the north, along with the Pioneers of UW-Platteville following in second. These two teams, along with that of UW-Stevens Point, St. Olaf, and UW-Oshkosh, did not race this past weekend. The Wisconsin-based teams all will take on the Augustana Interregional Invite, while the Oles of St. Olaf will travel to the Connecticut College Invitational.

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 continued to lead the South as they did not compete with its top runners but were the top DIII team at the Royals CC Challenge as the team looks ahead to the Roanoke Invitational. Lynchburg and Emory follow up in the second and third place rankings as both teams did not compete. Pfeiffer did not run its top runners as well, as they also competed at the Royals CC Challenge. Roanoke ranks in the fifth position as they did not race this weekend and look to host a big home meet this coming weekend.

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, CMS, and UC Santa Cruz all remain in the order they were last week, as they all did not race. Colorado College ran its second squad at UC-Colorado Springs’ XC Open, as the Tigers remain fourth in the West. Redlands rounded out the top five teams as they did not race. Pomona-Pitzer, UC Santa Cruz, and Colorado College all look ahead to the Augustana Interregional Invite, as CMS will travel to the Connecticut College Invite and Redlands will head to UC-Riverside’s meet.