2025 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 6

NEW ORLEANS – Now THAT was a weekend.

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 Bowdoin, No. 4 Brandeis, No. 5 Wellesley

Notes: How they finished at the Connecticut College Invitational is how they’re ranked this week. MIT topped the East Region with its runner-up finish behind champion Williams, while Tufts took tenth, and Bowdoin, Brandeis, and Wellesley were 12th, 13th, and 18th, respectively.

Great Lakes Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Trine

Next in Line: No. 2 Calvin

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

Notes: Trine and Calvin impressed at the Augustana Interregional Invitational this past weekend with respective runner-up and ninth-place finishes. Ohio Wesleyan improved from No. 5 to No. 3 thanks to a strong effort at the Connecticut College Invitational, while Case Western Reserve beat John Carroll head-to-head at the Inter-Regional Rumble.

Metro Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Rowan

Next in Line: No. 2 TCNJ

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Haverford, No. 4 Swarthmore, No. 5 Stockton

Notes: Nine of the top-ten teams in the Metro Region raced each other at the Interregional Border Battle hosted by Rowan. The Profs starred with a third-place finish, four places better than Haverford, six better than Swarthmore, and eight better than Stockton. TCNJ was the only top-ten team not to compete in New Jersey, instead opting to race in Connecticut.

Mid-Atlantic Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Johns Hopkins

Next in Line: No. 2 Carnegie Mellon

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Washington & Jefferson, No. 4 Gettysburg, No. 5 Misericordia

Notes: John Hopkins and Carnegie Mellon both looked as strong as advertised this past weekend with the former placing third at the Connecticut College Invitational and the latter romping to victory at the Interregional Border Battle. Washington & Jefferson leapt from No. 6 to No. 3 following a strong performance at the Inter-Regional Rumble in Ohio. Gettysburg soared five spots after placing fourth at the Aubrey Shenk Invitational.

Mideast Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Williams

Next in Line: No. 2 Middlebury

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

Notes: Nine of the top-ten teams competed against each other at the Connecticut College Invitational – and finished in that order. Williams won the overall team title, while Middlebury placed sixth, two spots ahead of Connecticut College, five spots ahead of Vassar, and ten spots ahead of Amherst. The Mammoths weren’t penalized for finishing behind the Brewers since they missed two of their top-five runners from earlier this season.   

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: Plenty of racing left no changes to the top-five teams. UChicago, Washington (Mo.), and Wartburg finished in that order at the Augustana Interregional Invitational, while Central (Iowa) chose to compete at the Bradley Pink Classic and placed fourth in the White 6k and Grinnell took 23rd at the Connecticut College Invitational.

Niagara Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 NYU

Next in Line: No. 2 SUNY Geneseo

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

Notes: NYU, SUNY Geneseo, and Ithaca all competed at the Connecticut College Invitational this past weekend to varying results. The Violets were fifth, four places ahead of the Knights, and 17 spots ahead of the Bombers. NYU held its own despite missing two of its top-three athletes – low stick Ashlyn Pallota and Olivia Jackson. RIT was a clear fifth at the Inter-Regional Rumble hosted by Oberlin.

North Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 UW-La Crosse

Next in Line: No. 2 Carleton

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

Notes: EIght of the top-ten teams competed at the Augustana Interregional Invitational, while the remaining two ventured to the Connecticut College Invitational. UW-La Crosse won the Illinois-based meet, well ahead of UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stevens Point. The Eagles put all five scorers in the top 30 and notched a meager 33-second spread. Carleton finished seventh in the Constitution State, seven places ahead of regional rival St. Olaf.

South Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Washington and Lee

Next in Line: No. 2 Emory

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Rhodes, No. 4 Southern Virginia, No. 5 Lynchburg

Notes: Top teams from the South Region spread out across the nation, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t head-to-head competition. Washington and Lee emerged as the top South Region squad at the South Region Showcase, beating both Southern Virginia and Lynchburg – despite racing its top-three athletes in Connecticut. Emory and Rhodes impressed at the Chattanooga Intercollegiate and Interregional Border Battle, respectively.  

West Region

Projected AQ: No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

Next in Line: No. 2 Colorado College

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer, No. 4 Trinity (Texas), No. 5 UC Santa Cruz

Notes: Four of the top-five teams competed at the Augustana Interregional Invitational, while the other (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps) went across the country to Connecticut. Colorado College, Pomona-Pitzer, Trinity (Texas) and UC Santa Cruz finished in that order in Illinois with the Tigers impressing the most in fifth place. The Athenas were fourth in Connecticut behind three teams ranked ahead of them in the National Coaches’ Poll, but had a small 20-second spread.