2021 NCAA DII Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 3

NEW ORLEANS – Another week down and another set of rankings in the 2021 cross country season!

Here is the Week 3 installment of the NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday afternoon.

Atlantic Region

There were major changes among the top-5 teams in the Atlantic Region.

Charleston (W.VA.) jumped three spots and is the new No. 1, followed by new No. 2 Seton Hill. Edinboro fell two spots to No. 3, Slippery Rock improved one spot to No. 4 and Davis and Elkins dropped three spots to No. 5. All five teams went head-to-head at the LHU Open/Invitational and finished second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

Central Region

There were two changes among the top-5 teams in the Central Region.

Augustana (S.D.), U-Mary and Minnesota Duluth remain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, and are now followed by No. 4 Minnesota State (up six spots from No. 10) and No. 5 Northwest Missouri (down one from No. 4). Three teams competed at the Griak Invitational this past weekend and led a Central Region sweep: the Marauders won the meet by 5 points over the Bulldogs, 64-69; the Mavericks came in third with 96 points

East Region

There were several among the top-5 teams in the East Region.

Southern New Hampshire and American International remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, while the next three spots changed. No. 3 Saint Anselm and No. 4 Stonehill each gained one spot, which dropped Roberts Wesleyan to No. 5. The Yellowjackets captured the team title at the Ted Owens Invitational, while the Skyhawks topped Roberts Wesleyan, 55-66, at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational.

Midwest Region

There were no changes among the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region.

Grand Valley State and Southwest Baptist remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Southern Indiana, No. 4 Cedarville and No. 5 Walsh. The Cavaliers were the only team in competition this past weekend and ran away from the field to win the LHU Open/Invitational by 73 points.

South Region

There were no changes among the top-5 teams in the South Region.

Lee (Tenn.) and Mississippi College remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Tampa, No. 4 Saint Leo and No. 5 Lynn. Four of the five teams will be in competition this weekend across the country, including a head-to-head matchup between the Spartans and the Lions at the DII National Preview.

South Central Region

There were no changes among the top-5 teams in the South Central Region.

Colorado School of Mines and Adams State remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 UC-Colorado Springs, No. 4 CSU Pueblo and No. 5 Colorado Christian. All teams were idle this past weekend and four teams will be racing this upcoming weekend, including the Orediggers and the ThunderWolves at the Chile Pepper Festival.

Southeast Region

There were minor changes among the top-5 teams in the Southeast Region.

Queens (N.C.), Wingate and Flagler remain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4, respectively, while No. 3 Anderson (S.C.) and No. 5 Lenoir-Rhyne traded places from a week ago. Three teams raced this past weekend at the Queen City Invite: the Trojans finished eight points ahead of the Royals for second place, while the Bears came in fourth.

West Region

There were a whole slew of changes among the top-5 teams in the West Region.

Simon Fraser and Chico State both improved by one spot and are the new No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, which dropped No. 3 Cal State Stanislaus down by two spots. No. 4 Cal State San Marcos and No. 5 Academy of Art swapped places from a week ago. Four teams raced this past weekend: SFU topped the field to win the Mike Johnson Classic; the Wildcats captured the team title at the Cougar Challenge by two points over the Warriors, 60-62, while the Cougars finished third with 71 points.