NCAA DIII Women’s XC Poll Ready For The Championships

NEW ORLEANS — Thirty-two women’s teams will toe the start line on Saturday at the 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Johns Hopkins MIT SUNY Geneseo Washington (Mo.) Williams View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

Only one of them could be the unanimous No. 1 in the Pre-Championship Edition of the National Coaches’ Poll, which was released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). That would be none other than three-time national champion Johns Hopkins.

This is the third time this season that the Blue Jays have each of the eight first-place votes in their nest. Historically, this is the fourth consecutive year that Johns Hopkins has been tabbed as the odds-on favorite entering NCAAs.

The Blue Jays romped to a team title in the Mideast Region as they scored 38 points compared to Dickinson’s 120. Johns Hopkins put four runners in the top-10 led by individual champion Felicia Koerner, who won by 26 seconds.

NATIONAL PDFs: Summary | Week-By-Week 2016 | Week-By-Week All-Time
Regional Championship Central: USTFCCCA InfoZone

CHECK OUT THE MEN’S NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL

A region title doesn’t always lead to a national title for the Blue Jays. They learned that lesson last year when they finished 4th and Williams ended up on top of the podium.

Those Ephs return to defend their crown this year and were one of six teams — other than Johns Hopkins — not to budge from their spots in the top-7. New England Region champ MIT remained No. 2 and is followed by Atlantic Region champ SUNY Geneseo, Midwest Region champ Washington (Mo.), aforementioned Williams, Tufts and UW-La Crosse.

Movement was the name of the game elsewhere in the Pre-Championship Edition as Regional Championship Weekend really shook things up.

SUNY Oneonta and RPI soared into the top-10 after strong showings at the Atlantic Region meet. The Red Dragons went from No. 14 to No. 8 and the Engineers matched their program best mark of 9th, set in the preseason poll.

Great Lakes Region champ Calvin also found its way into the top-10 at No. 10. This is the 6th time this season that the Knights have been ranked among the top one-third.

West Region champ Whitworth took up residence in the top-15 for the first time since Week 7 last year. The Pirates were ranked 3rd in their region before toppling both Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Colorado College last weekend.

Speaking of shocking results, St. Olaf captured the Central Region crown after being ranked 4th before the meet. The Oles jumped from No. 33 last week to No. 20 this week.

Other teams that were rewarded for strong outings this past weekend include Great Lakes runner-up Allegheny (Pa.) (up nine spots from No. 26 to No. 17), Mideast Region third-place team Elizabethtown (up seven spots from No. 29 to No. 22) and South/Southeast runner-up Rhodes (returning to the poll at No. 32).

What’s going to happen on Saturday? Time will only tell, but keep on checking back throughout the week as we preview the 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships.

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