NCAA DIII Preseason Regional Rankings Released

NEW ORLEANS — Doesn’t it seem like track & field just ended?

That might be the case, but the 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country season starts up Thursday and with that, come regional rankings and national polls.

QUICK LINKS: Regional Rankings Summary PDF | Men’s Rankings | Women’s Rankings | Rankings Central

We’ll get to the national poll on Wednesday, but today belongs to the Preseason Regional Rankings compiled and released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Of the 16 regional champions from 2015, 11 returned as top dogs in the preseason. The most turnover happened in the men’s rankings, where half of the teams switched spots.

See below for more information on the rankings, including overviews of each region as well as the full top-10 lists at the bottom of the post.

NCAA Division III Regional Championships will be held across the nation on Saturday, November 12. The following week, the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will take place in Louisville, Kentucky at the E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park.

ATLANTIC REGION

The SUNY Geneseo men, last year’s regional champ, is the preseason favorite according to the rankings. The Knights sit ahead of last year’s runner-up St. Lawrence. Rounding out the top-5 are third-ranked RPI (up three spots from its finish in 2015), fourth-ranked NYU (up two spots) and fifth-ranked Hamilton (down two spots).

Just like the men’s team, the SUNY Geneseo women are won the regional championship and return as the No. 1 squad. Not much changed behind the Knights as 2015 runner-up SUNY Oneonta and third-place finisher RPI are second and third. Rochester (N.Y.) and St. Lawrence traded spots from their finishes in 2015 and sit fourth and fifth.

CENTRAL REGION

St. Olaf is once again the preseason favorite in this region and is followed in order by Loras, Central (Iowa), Gustavus Adolphus and Luther. The Ole men have won the last three region championships after finishing runner-up in 2012.

Taking a look at the women’s rankings, St. Thomas (Minn.) headlines the group after a championship season last year. Runner-up Carleton is second, followed by Loras and Macalester. Wartburg, a ninth-place finisher in 2015, rounds out the top-5.

GREAT LAKES REGION

The top-4 finishers at last year’s Great Lakes Regional for the men were Wabash, Allegheny (Pa.), Calvin and Ohio Northern. Can you guess the top-4 teams in the preseason rankings? If you guessed Wabash, Allegheny (Pa.), Calvin and Ohio Northern, you got it right. The fifth-ranked team is John Carroll, last year’s seventh-place finisher.

The women’s rankings didn’t divert too much from how the teams finished last year at the regional meet. Hope remained No. 1, followed by Calvin and Allegheny (Pa.) Next up, though, is Oberlin (sixth place last year) and Otterbein (eighth place in 2015).

MIDEAST REGION

This is where — in the men’s rankings — we see our first stray from the order of finish at last year’s regional. Carnegie Mellon comes in at No. 1 after a third-place showing in 2015. Haverford, last year’s champion, is No. 2, followed by Johns Hopkins and Widener. The last team in the top-5 is Dickinson.

What would a Mideast Regional Ranking be without the Johns Hopkins women at the top? The Blue Jays have created a dynasty and are No. 1 once again. The Haverford women join the men at No. 2, while Elizabethtown is No. 3. 2015 runner-up Dickinson is No. 4, followed by fifth-ranked DeSales.

MIDWEST REGION

The men’s race in the Midwest Region was hotly contested last year and many see it happening again in 2016. Last year’s runner-up North Central (Ill.) sits No. 1 for the time being with 2015 NCAA champ UW-Eau Claire at No. 2. Nothing changed at No. 3, as that spot still belongs to UW-La Crosse. UW-Platteville comes in at No. 4, while Chicago is No. 5.

Glancing at the women’s rankings, Washington (Mo.) remains at No. 1 and added to its roster with a solid freshman class. Pollsters see UW-La Crosse improving upon its fourth-place finish from last year (ranked second now) as they do UW-Eau Claire. The fourth-ranked team is UW-Oshkosh and Chicago is No. 5, just like the men.

NEW ENGLAND REGION

Last year the Williams men won the New England Region and were followed by Amherst and Tufts. Well, the Ephs remain No. 1, but there’s a team in the middle of them and the other two. That’s MIT, last year’s fifth-place team up three spots. Middlebury, a team that finished sixth last year, is fifth.

The Williams women had a dream season last year, capped by the NCAA team title in Winneconne, Wisconsin. It makes sense that the squad is No. 1 in the preseason rankings. Tufts, last year’s regional runner-up, is No. 2, followed by MIT and Middlebury. Amherst rounds out the top-5.

SOUTH/SOUTHEAST REGION

What happened last year in the men’s race in the South/Southeast Regional doesn’t matter to the pollsters in 2016. None of the top-5 teams remained in place. Christopher Newport, last year’s runner-up, is No. 1, followed by Emory, last year’s champ. Washington and Lee comes in at No. 3 (sixth place last year), Rhodes is No. 4 and Bridgewater (Va.) is the fifth-ranked squad.

The Emory women, who won the 2015 South/Southeast Regional title last year, are the preseason favorite in 2016. Rhodes, last year’s runner-up, is No. 2. Trinity (Texas) moved up from a fourth-place finish to No. 3, while fifth-place finisher Christopher Newport jumped to No. 4 and Washington and Lee fell two spots to No. 5.

WEST REGION

The top-5 teams in the West Region last year were Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Pomona-Pitzer, Willamette, Occidental and Puget Sound. Each of those five teams returned to the top-5 in the preseason and only the Stags (No. 1 to No. 2) and Sagehens (No. 2 to No. 1) changed position from their 2015 finish order.

The top-ranked women’s team in the West Region is Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Colorado College is No. 2 following a fourth-place finish in 2015. Willamette, last year’s region champ, is No. 3, while Occidental and Pomona-Pitzer are No. 4 and 5.