2021 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 4

NEW ORLEANS – Competition was everywhere this past weekend!

Here is the newest edition of the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for Week 4 of the 2021 season. An electric few days meant a lot of changes to a number of regions, which only promises to shake things up even more as the season progresses.

Regional Championships Saturday is set for Saturday, November 13!

East Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the East Region.

MIT and Bates remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Tufts, No. 4 WPI and No. 5 Brandeis. Three of the top-5 teams competed this weekend at different meets: the Cambridge-based Engineers placed fifth at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic despite a ton of adversity; the Bobcats won the team title at the Maine State Meet over fellow region foe Colby; the Judges won the team title at the Keene State Invitational over Wellesley.

Great Lakes Region

There were a few changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Great Lakes Region.

Calvin and Hope remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by new No. 3 John Carroll, new No. 4 Allegheny (Pa.) and No. 5 Case Western Reserve. The Knights and the Flying Dutch were both at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic this past weekend: Calvin finished third in the Women’s Silver 6k; Hope stepped up in competition and took 33rd place out of 44 teams in the predominantly NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II Women’s Gold 5k. Both the Blue Streaks and the Gators had breakthrough efforts at the Paul Short Run this past weekend.

Metro Region

There were a few changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Metro Region.

Haverford and Swarthmore remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 TCNJ, but Ursinus and Moravian swapped spots to sandwich Stockton (The Bears went to No. 4, while the Greyhounds dropped to No. 6). Each of those top-6 teams competed at the Paul Short Run this past weekend, albeit in different races. Ursinus edged Moravian in the Women’s College White 6k, as they finished 12th and 13th, respectively.

Mid-Atlantic Region

There was one change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Johns Hopkins and Dickinson remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Carnegie Mellon and No. 4 Misericordia, but Susquehanna jumped five spots from No. 10 to No. 5. Dickinson, Carnegie Mellon and Susquehanna all competed at the Paul Short Run this past weekend, while Johns Hopkins tested its might at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic. The Blue Jays finished 10th in a predominately NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II field in the Women’s Gold 5k in Louisville, Kentucky. The Red Devils placed second in the Women’s College Brown 6k in Bethlehem behind a solid 1-2 punch and the Tartans ended up fifth in the same race. The River Hawks took runner-up honors in the Women’s College White 6k.

Mideast Region

There was a small change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mideast Region.

Williams and Amherst remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Middlebury and No. 4 RPI, but Wesleyan (Conn.) jumped two spots from No. 6 to No. 4 and RPI fell one spot to No. 5. Three of those top-5 teams competed in the Women’s College Brown 6k at the Paul Short Run this past weekend. The Mammoths topped all but one NCAA DIII program thanks to two top-25 runners, while the Cardinals and Engineers placed 15th and 20th, respectively.

Midwest Region

There was a small change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region.

Wartburg remained No. 1, but is now followed by Washington (Mo.), which leapfrogged UChicago into the No. 2 spot (The Maroons are now ranked No. 3). Loras and Elmhust held steady at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Wartburg and WashU went head-to-head at the Dan Huston Invitational this past weekend and it was an epic duel. The top-ranked Knights and now second-ranked Bears matched each other point for point, so much so that it had to come down to a tiebreaker. Ultimately, Wartburg prevailed and is still in control of the region.

Niagara Region

There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Niagara Region.

SUNY Geneseo and RIT remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Rochester (N.Y.) and No. 4 Ithaca, but NYU and Hamilton both leapfrogged St. John Fisher into the No. 5 and No. 6 spots, respectively. The Knights hosted – and convincingly won the team title at – the Mike Woods Invitational this past weekend, which the Engineers, Bombers and Continentals attended and finished in that order.

North Region

There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the North Region.

UW-La Crosse remained No. 1, but UW-Eau Claire leapfrogged Carleton into the No. 2 spot (The Knights are now ranked No. 3). St. Olaf and Gustavus Adolphus held steady at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Eagles looked strong in a runner-up effort at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic, while a tiebreaker decided the team title between Carleton and UW-Eau Claire at the Blugold Invitational. By the look of the rankings, you can tell which team won (That would be the host Blugold, which went 5-14-15-16-20, compared to the Knights’ 2-7-17-19-25).

South Region

There were a few changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Region.

Emory and Lynchburg remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Washington and Lee and No. 5 Mary Washington. But what about No. 4, you ask. Christopher Newport jumped three spots from No. 7 to No. 4. Both the Eagles and the Hornets impressed at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic, finishing top-6 in a loaded field. The Captains hung tough at the Paul Short Run and saw Logan Funk finish in the top-40 individually.

West Region

There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 George Fox, but new No. 4 Colorado College and new No. 5 UC Santa Cruz swapped spots. The Athenas rolled to the team title at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic and saw four runners finish in the top-10. The Tigers also won a team title, theirs at the Colby Region VI Preview. Colorado College put five runners in the top-10 and trumped three JUCO programs.