2025 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 7

NEW ORLEANS – With conference week to reflect on, we all look ahead to the regional meet. This is what separates the what-ifs from the what happened.

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 Bates, No. 4 Colby, No. 5 WPI

Tufts maintained its hold on the East Region’s top spot after winning the NESCAC Championships by 27 points. The Jumbos scored 30 to top Williams (57) and placed five runners in the top 11, led by Jonah Reisner.

MIT stayed second in the rankings following a dominant performance at the NEWMAC Championships, where it scored just 20 points to WPI’s 60. The Engineers swept the top three spots with Tim Neumann, Yichen Sun, and Renne Cooper, while Landon Hering and Sam Hensen also finished inside the top eight.

Bates rose to third in the rankings as it beat out Colby in a head-to-head matchup at the NESCAC Championships.

GREAT LAKES REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Hope

Next in Line: No. 2 John Carroll

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Otterbein, No. 4 Case Western, No. 5 Trine

Notes: Hope remained at the top of the Great Lakes as it won the MIAA after putting seven in the top ten and breaking Calvin’s streak of winning the team title. John Carroll put on a masterclass performance to win the NCAC title with a 35-second total spread and took the top three individual places in the meet. 

Otterbein beat out Mount Union by 25 points to win the OAC team title and was led by Payne Ratliff who took the individual title. Case Western Reserve comes in at the fourth position after competing at the UAA Championships finishing sixth overall. Trine rounded out the top five as it finished second in the MIAA to Hope.

METRO REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 TCNJ

Next in Line: No. 2 Haverford

Also in the Hunt: No. 3 Swarthmore, No. 4 Moravian, No. 5 Rowan

Notes: TCNJ proved why it deserved to be at the top of the Metro with a statement win of 22 points in the NJAC Championships. The Lions, led by seven finishers in the top ten, easily dispatched Rowan. Haverford rose to No. 2 after beating Swarthmore at the Centennial Conference meet.

Moravian remained at the fourth ranking in the region as it won the Landmark Conference meet with three runners finishing in the top four and only scoring 30 points.

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 won the Centennial Conference with 19 points thanks to taking the top-three individual spots, along with sixth and seventh. The Blue Jays had a 28-second spread. Carnegie Mellon ranks second after finishing third in the UAA behind NYU and UChicago after being four points ahead of Washington (Mo.).

Lebanon Valley won the MAC title and beat Messiah by fifteen points with six in the top fourteen overall and individual champion Rory Lieberman. Dickinson finished fourth in the Centennial Conference Championships and ranked fourth in the region.

MIDEAST REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Williams

Next in Line: No. 2 RPI

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

Notes: Williams remained atop the Mideast Region with a runner-up performance to Tufts at the NESCAC Championships and beat out Amherst by 23 points. RPI ranked in the second position in the region as it won the Liberty League with 22 points and an unbelievable 14-second gap between their first through fifth finishers. 

Wesleyan (Conn.) ranked fourth in the Mideast after finishing fourth in the NESCAC with 107 points overall. Middlebury was fifth at the NESCAC Championships.

MIDWEST REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Wartburg

Next in Line: No. 2 UChicago

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

Notes: Wartburg posted a perfect score at the A-R-C Championships. This win came with a 20-second spread and an individual title from Isaiah Hammerand with a time of 23:44. UChicago finished second to NYU at the UAA Championships by 23 points, yet beat Carnegie Mellon and Washington (Mo.), along with having three finishers side-by-side in the top seven.

North Central (Ill.) ranked third in the Midwest after winning its 51st CCIW team title. Loras ranked fifth after finishing as runner-ups in the A-R-C Championship and beating out Central.

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 Hamilton

Notes: SUNY Geneseo headlines the Niagara Region as the Knights sat out their top four runners and still won the Empire 8 title. NYU won the UAA title with five finishers in the top 11 overall and cleared the rest of Niagara besides the next closest team being SUNY Geneseo.

RIT finished third at the Liberty League, beating out Ithaca, yet losing to St. Lawrence and RPI. Rochester (N.Y.) ranked fourth in the Niagara as it finished seventh in the UAA. Hamilton rose in the rankings to round out the top five of the Niagara Region as it finished ninth in the NESCAC.

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-Whitewater

Notes: UW-La Crosse continues to dominate the North after winning the WIAC title led by Grant Matthai in 23:24 and an impressive 39-second spread. UW-Platteville remained second in the rankings as the Pioneers had a runner-up performance and ten point win over UW-Stevens Point.

St. Olaf ranked fourth in the North as the Oles won the MIAC title with 33 points over runner-up Carleton’s 84. UW-Whitewater rounded out the top five in the North after finishing fourth at the WIAC Championships as it beat UW-Oshkosh in a tie-breaker as Tucker Johnson had beat out the Titan’s fifth runner in a head-to-head.

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 holds the No. 1 ranking in the South after it won the ODAC title for the first time since 2019 over second-ranked Lynchburg.

Emory rounded out the top three in the rankings after finishing fifth in the UAA and beating out Case Western Reserve. Pfeiffer won the USA South title with a perfect score, yet still ranked behind Emory after being beaten out at Paul Short. Roanoke rounded out the top five after beating out Berry in a tiebreaker in a previous matchup.

WEST REGION

Projected AQ: No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer

Next in Line: No. 2 Colorado College

Also in the Hunt: No. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, No. 4 UC Santa Cruz, No. 5 George Fox

Notes: Pomona-Pitzer won the SCIAC title after beating out CMS in a head-to-head 29 to 48 win. With this convincing win, Pomona-Pitzer ranks first in the West Region over the rest. Colorado College ranked second this week after posting a nearly perfect score of 16 points at the SCAC Championships with five finishers in the top six and Will Shuflit winning the individual title.

UC Santa Cruz ranked fourth after winning the C2C Championships. George Fox rounded out the top five in the West Region after winning the NWC Championships.