2025 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 8
NEW ORLEANS – Championship Week is finally upon us.
Here is the newest edition of the 2025 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday. USTFCCCA polls and rankings are presented by AthleticNET.
NCAA Division III — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
UW-La Crosse
UW-La Crosse
2
Wartburg
Wartburg
3
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
4
SUNY Geneseo
SUNY Geneseo
5
NYU
NYU
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Defending national champion UW-La Crosse is the odds-on favorite to repeat. The Eagles are the unanimous No. 1 selection after winning the North Region with a mere 30 points. UW-La Crosse proved to be leagues ahead of others from the North Region and looks to be even stronger than it was in 2024. The Eagles have been perched atop the rankings for the past few years, but the new storyline for them is if they can establish themselves as a dynasty. With all seven finishers for UW-La Crosse finishing in the top 18 in the region, including a 2-3-4 by Grant Matthai, Aidan Matthai, and Jayden Zywicki, it is not an unfounded claim that it could take seven all-American honors in South Carolina come Saturday.
Wartburg headlines the crucible that is the rest of Division III and sits No. 2 going into the NCAA Championships. The Knights came closest to beating the Eagles all season, falling to them by 12 points at the Augustana Interregional Invitational. It was the closest margin of victory yet for UW-La Crosse. Wartburg looked to be recentered and refocused after winning the Midwest Region team title. Isaiah Hammerand, the American Rivers Conference champion, led the Knights to a 57-point victory over UChicago. Much like the Eagles, Wartburg had five finishers in the top nine, with their sixth and seventh runners in the top 30. With the only head-to-head matchup in the top five against UW-La Crosse, Wartburg will have to lay it all on the line to defeat the defending champions, and it may have the best shot in the nation to do it.
Shifting away from America’s heartland, Johns Hopkins won the Mid-Atlantic team title with 24 points after having an impressive seven finishers in the top nine overall. Notably, individual national title favorite Emmanuel Leblond wasn’t one of them, as he sat out. Kenny Wanless, third at the Centennial Conference Championships, picked up the win for the Blue Jays. Depth continues to be a strong suit for Johns Hopkins and will need it to knock off the nation’s best.
SUNY Geneseo is considered to be the last true podium contender, having received all of the fourth place votes from the electorate. The Knights beat NYU by 18 points, 29-47, after being led by the 1-2 punch of Ryan Hagan and Emerson Comer. Don’t discount the Violets, though, as they sit fifth behind SUNY Geneseo. The battle for fourth will be defined by the Knights’ upfront power compared to NYU’s narrow 28-second spread. The Violets’ pack has consistently been one of the best in the nation as outside of their top finisher in Liam Hagerty, NYU had its second through fourth runners were only half a second apart.
Iron sharpens iron and regional rivals should continue to push each other up the standings. RPI sits right outside of the top five after defeating No. 10 Williams at the Mideast Championships. MIT narrowly defeated Tufts by seven points to win the East title and those two teams are now tied in seventh. Midwest runner-up UChicago hasn’t budged from its No. 9 ranking.
There is no hiding as all teams will go all-in at the 2025 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships, held this Saturday, November 22, at the Roger Millikin Cross Country Course in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
