Flotrack XC Rankings Women's NCAA XC Top 31 Teams (Week 3)

Oct 8, 2013 by Isaac Wood

A very interesting weekend at Notre Dame, Paul Short and Chile Pepper moves many teams around the rankings this week. Once again, like I said with the men, although there are some quality teams that have been left out of the rankings (Texas A&M, Princeton, etc), I have to do this off of the teams that I believe will, in the long run, make the NCAA Championships. For example, the Florida women are probably not the 31st best team in the NCAA right now, but they will be making the meet out of the South region.

Check out the men's week three rankings here.

Rank | Team | Points at Nationals

#1 Providence - 161
The Friars were off this week.
Next up: New England Championships/Wisco Invite- 10/12; 10/19

#2 Washington - 201
Maybe the most impressive team all weekend were the Washington women. Placing 4 in the top-10 at Dellinger and their no. 5 finishing 13th, the Huskies rolled on Oregon at their home meet. Amy Eloise-Neale, the local high school star who represented GB for much of the summer track and field programs, was outstanding in her debut. She cruised right with Katie Flood the whole race and those two are a sick 1-2 punch. Add Katie Knight and Maddie Meyers, who are looking very good right now, and through four UW is solid. Unlike most top level teams this season, Washington actually has a legitimate and solid no. 5 runner. Eleanor Fulton is no slouch either and proved it this weekend with her 13th place finish, beating Molly Grabill and Abbey Leonardi of Oregon. Because of this very good performance, the Huskies are easily one of the best teams in the country and will be fighting for a podium position and more at NCAAs.
Next up: Wisco Invite- 10/19

#3 Florida State - 202
A brutally humid and nasty day at Notre Dame turned out quite nice for the 'Noles this weekend. Although the conditions were not ideal, FSU, led by Colleen Quigley and British standout Hannah Walker, were able to come away with a win at Notre Dame. Quigley and Walker are looking like another very good 1-2 punch (quite like UW) and will be great low-sticks for Florida State when they head into the championship portion of the season. Pippa Woolven stepped up nicely for FSU finishing as the no. 3 runner and 19th overall.
Next up: Pre-Nats- 10/19

#4 Arizona - 211
Nothing out of Tucson this weekend.
Next up: Thunderbird XC Classic/Wisco Invite 10/12; 10/19

#5 Duke - 226
Holding out many of their top athletes, Duke ran to a 10th place team finish at Notre Dame. With a few of the best runners on their team sick, Coach Jermyn decided to run only a few of the girls that were healthy. Regardless, Juliet Bottorff came away with the individual win and looked very good in doing so. She will definitely be in the mix for a top five finish at NCAAs in November. Amira Banks, the 800 meter specialist, also had a good day for Duke running as their no. 2. With Frazier, Lakowske, Baskir, and Hannah Meier out with various issues (mostly sickness), the Blue Devils were lacking most of their star power up front. Duke is still very good, but now has something to prove as the season rolls on that they really are as good as they look on paper.
Next up: Royal Challenge- 10/11- Wisco Invite- 10/19

#6 Oregon - 268
At their home meet this weekend, the Bill Dellinger Invite, the Oregon women went back-to-back weeks after the Battle of Beantown and got beat by Washington. Even though they lost, UW is now the no. 2 team in the country and a loss to them is nothing to be discouraged about. Especially after back to back meets. Oregon has yet to open up transfer stud from UCONN Lindsay Crevoiserat. When she can get rolling and with Molly Grabill still coming back from her rough last year, Oregon will be fine.
Next up: Pre-Nats - 10/19

#7 Georgetown - 275
Without Katrina Coogan and Madeline Chambers, the Georgetown women took home the title from Paul Short. Which is a good sign for the Hoyas beacuse when they plug Coogan and Chambers in to the mix, they are loaded. Freshman Haley Pierce was great in her first race in uniform placing no. 3 on the team and 15th overall. Samantha Nadel and Rachel Schneider led the Hoyas up front placing 11th and 13th. A :10 second weekend between those three is great and will look even better when the full team is running together.
Next up: Pre-Nats - 10/19

#8 Arkansas - 325
The Chile Pepper Invite, the Arkansas women were dominant on their home turf. The Hogs put 8 in the top 10 and Grace Heymsfield returned to her winning way of last season as she was the no. 1 runner for Arkansas for the majority of the season. Arkansas could be the deepest squad in the country and it will be fun to watch them stack themselves up against the rest of the country in a few weeks.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

#9 Michigan - 325
At a not as stacked field in Kansas, the Michigan women rolled on the field at the Rim Rock Classic. Taylor Pogue has been feeling it this season and has won back-to-back races. Michigan, like Arkansas, is also very deep, and has yet to really have a chance to run with any teams that can challenge them. Shannon Osika has yet to open up yet and when she comes in, the Wolverines are a dangerously good team.
Next up: Pre-Nats - 10/19

#10 New Mexico - 347
With seven new transfers on the Lobo squad plus a few solid returners from 2012, New Mexico looked very good at Notre Dame challenging no. 2 Florida State. Harvard transfer Sammy Silva was very good placing third individually. Charlotte Arter, one of the lone girls who scored for UNM in 2012, was their no. 2 in 10th. The Lobos are very deep and are one of the surprise teams of the 2013 season. Transfers Calli Thackery, Heleene Tambet, and Nicole Roberts rounded out the scorers.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

#11 Stanford - 350
Nothing from Palo Alto this weekend.
Next up: Pre-Nats - 10/19

#12 Butler - 357
Butler's "B" team ran at Notre Dame.
Next up: Pre-Nats - 10/19

#13 Oklahoma State - 361
Idle.
Next up: Pre-Nats - 10/19

#14 Michigan State - 375
Idle.
Next up: Michigan Intercollegiates-10/11

#15 San Francisco - 390
The Dons may have had their best showing in a long time this weekend placing third in a stacked Notre Dame Invite. Boston College transfer Bridget Dahlberg was great in her debut in USF uniform and finished 7th individually. Eva Krchova finished right behind her in 8th adding a nice 1-2 punch for the Dons. The performer of the meet for San Francisco was Kate Jamboretz who has yet to break 10 minutes for 3k, finished 13 individually. With a bummer race out of Sophie Curl and Elena Burkard and without Laura Suur and Jana Soethout, the Dons still have much to do and many teams to surprise this season.
Next up: Wisco Invite -10/19

#16 Minnesota - 414
The Minnesota women rolled on a mediocre field at South Dakota State this weekend. They are obviously very deep.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

#17 Colorado - 417
Idle.
Next up: Pre-Nats - 10/19

#18 Villanova - 436
'Nova was surprised this weekend by an up-start Dartmouth team and beat by Georgetown at Paul Short, but in general had a good outing this weekend. Emily Lipari and Nicky Akande are right back where they were all last season being a very good 1-2 (finished 6th and 8th) up front for the Wildcats. Redshirt Frosh Angel Piccirillo was the no. 3 for Villanova and was top-20. Although it was probably not the result that Villanova was looking for, it's still early in the season and they generally tend to sharpen up very nicely as the season rolls on.
Next up: Pre-Nats - 10/19

#19 Cornell - 443
Back-to-back weeks for the Cornell women was not ideal for them at Paul Short this weekend. Rachel Sorna and Emily Shearer were good as usual, but without the help of Caroline Kellner, Cornell struggled a bit, finishing fourth as a team behind G-Town, Dartmouth and 'Nova. Sorna's 5th place finish was the highlight of the meet. The Big Red will need to find consistency behind Sorna and Shearer to be able to solidfy themselves as a top-15 team this season.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

#20 Dartmouth - 465
I'm officially on board the Mark Coogan bandwagon. After great success with Ben True and Abbey D'Agostino, he's now been able to round up some solid athletes to develop and turn into excellent cross country runners. Abbey D'Agostino won the Paul Short Invite and helped lead her squad to a surprise second place team finish. Dana Giordano was great as well for Dartmouth finishing 9th overall and the rest of the team finished in the top-50. With the most likely lowest stick in the field at NCAAs, Dartmouth is going to be a good team in Terre Haute in November.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

#21 BYU - 469
Another surprise team from this weekend was a solid fourth place team finish out of the BYU women at Notre Dame. Former 10:13 3200m HS runner Natalie Shields had the best race of her career finishing 15th individually to lead the Cougars. Nicole Nielson and Andrea Nelson-Harrison were solid coming in 31st and 37th and BYU found some surprisingly solid finishes out of their depth. With their regular no. 3 falling early in the race, the Cougars have much potential to improve as the season goes on.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

#22 Notre Dame - 469
Kelly Curran was outstanding for Notre Dame at their home invite placing 9th individually and leading her team to a sixth place team finish. Without the help of Dani Aragon, Molly Seidel and Megan Ferowich the Irish did have a meet that was not exactly what they were looking for at home. With those girls added to the mix, Notre Dame will see where they really stack up when they have a full squad.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

#23 Virginia - 481
Idle.
Next up: Pre-Nats - 10/19

#24 William and Mary - 482
Idle.
Next up: Pre-Nats - 10/19

#25 Iowa State - 500
Idle.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

#26 Texas - 511
Idle.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

#27 Penn State - 571
A ninth place finish at Paul Short this weekend is a bit disappointing coming from a team with loads of talent. Without the services of Tori Perri, Rebekka Simko and Emily Giannotti the Nittany Lions were beaten by many teams that, in reality, they are better than. When they can get their full squad together (remember it is early yet) it will be interesting to see where they really stack up against the rest of the NCAA.
Next up: Penn State National - 10/18 - Pre-National Invitational - 10/10

#28 NC State - 674
Idle.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

#29 Vanderbilt - 675
Idle.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

#30 Florida - 762
Idle.
Next up: Disney Cross Country Classic - 10/12

#31 Syracuse - 785
Idle.
Next up: Wisco Invite - 10/19

Dropped out: Texas A&M

New to the rankings: #20 Dartmouth

Other teams to consider: Boise State, Princeton