In the aftermath of the most crucial weekend of the regular season, teams around the country competed at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, the Pre-National XC Invitational and the Penn State National XC Open. Each meet produced some serious shake-ups in the Saucony Flo50 women's team rankings. Here are some of the winners and losers of the competitive weekend in NCAA cross country. 

STOCK UP - Washington, New Mexico, Baylor, San Francisco, Utah, Iowa State, Notre Dame, Colorado, Oregon, Michigan, Portland, California, Mississippi State, Penn State 

Washington had a jaw-dropping day at the Wisconsin Invitational. The Huskies won the team title in Madison by beating previously ranked No. 5 North Carolina State and No. 2 Providence by a whopping 42 points. The team showed a deep pack in all five scorers: Amy-Eloise Neale (fourth), Charlotte Prouse (fifth), Kaitlyn Neal (34th), Kaylee Flanagan (36th), and Nicole Zielinski (45th). All five scorers were separated by just 52 seconds, which resulted in a jump from No. 3 to No. 2 in the country. N.C. State's performance was also impressive as the team's top three--led by Erika Kemp's seventh-place--finished in the top 25. 

Watch Amy-Eloise Neale react to her breakthrough performance for the Washington Huskies:



Despite some shaky preseason news that included injury and eligibility reports, New Mexico managed to break through with a fourth-place finish at Wisconsin to beat No. 19 Baylor and several other previously high-ranked teams. Baylor also had a breakthrough day with a fifth-place team finish and four finishers in the top 31, led by Maggie Montoya in 11th place. 

With a deep international squad, San Francisco went from previously being unranked, to jumping up No. 14 in the Saucony Flo50. The Dons captured a sixth-place team finish, ahead of previously ranked No. 22 Utah, No. 21 Iowa State, and No. 25 Notre Dame. All three teams (Utah, Iowa State, Notre Dame) also experienced significant jumps in the rankings after finishing seventh, eighth, and ninth at Wisconsin. Notre Dame's sophomore star Anna Rohrer walked away with a third-place finish behind Peloquin and Wright.

WATCH: Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Women's Race

The No. 1-ranked Colorado Buffaloes defended their top ranking by demolishing the field at the Pre-National Invitational. Erin Clark utilized the long straight away of the LaVern Gibson Championship finish to outkick Karissa Schweizer and Peyton Bilo for second-place overall. Her teammates were not far behind as Kaitlyn Benner (12th), Dani Jones (17th), Makena Morley (26th), and Sage Hurta (36th) followed for a total score of 93, which was 61 points lower than second-place Oregon. 

Oregon also experienced a jump in the rankings--from No. 4 to No. 3. Led by a sixth-place finish from star freshman Katie Rainsberger, the young Ducks squad collected a runner-up team finish by getting all five scorers in the top 53. Rainsberger's performance in particular turned heads as she was the only freshman to finish within the top 15 of the race. 



After a tough Roy Griak Invitational, the Michigan Wolverines asserted themselves at Pre-Nationals by collecting a third-place team finish. Led by a dominant win by Erin Finn, Michigan jumped from No. 9 to No. 6 in the rankings. 

The Portland Pilots backed up their breakthrough performance at Roy Griak by finishing fourth as a team in Terre Haute, Indiana. Prior to Pre-Nationals, the Pilots earned the team's first top-10 ranking in school history. After finishing four scorers in the top 50, the Pilots maintained their top-10 ranking. 

WATCH: Pre-National XC Invitational Women's Blue Race

Previously unranked California and Mississippi State demonstrated their talent at Pre-Nationals by finishing eighth and ninth, respectively. After breakthrough performances in Terre Haute, each team earned a spot in the Saucony Flo50. Led by an eighth-place finish from All-American Bethan Knights, California now stands at No. 18. The Bulldogs finished ninth overall with a 31st-place finish from 2015 NCAA 1500m champion Rhianwedd Price. Mississippi State went from unranked to now standing at No. 21. 

Previously ranked No. 11 Penn State emerged with a convincing victory at the Penn State National XC Open where the team claimed the win over Mississippi and Oklahoma State with a total of 47 points. Tessa Barrett, Elizabeth Chikotas, and Jillian Hunsberger finished 1-2-3, asserting themselves on their home course and catapulting Penn State to No. 8 in the rankings. 


STOCK DOWN - Providence, Michigan State, Boise State (team), Stanford
Wisconsin was telling for Providence who got beat by North Carolina State by four points to finish third. N.C. State unloaded a lethal 1-2-3 punch of Erika Kemp, Rachel Koon, and Alyssa Rudawsky who finished seventh, 18th, and 24th, respectively. Each runner beat Providence's top three--Sarah Collins finished 16th, Katie Lembo finished 27th, and Brianna Llarda came in 37th. 

Wisconsin was a wake-up call for previously ranked No. 7 Michigan State and No. 8 Boise State, who showed strengths in some places and weaknesses in others. The Spartans finished 19th overall and were led by a breakthrough performance from front-runner Alexis Wiersma, who finished 12th overall. However, the pack started to fall off for the team's No. 3 through No. 5 scorers, who all finished in the 106th-134th range. 

Boise State is an interesting case as the Broncos possess a potential individual NCAA champion in Brenna Peloquin but lack a deep No. 2-5 scoring pack as a team. The news of NCAA runner-up Allie Ostrander being out with injury will have a big impact on the team's chances of finishing within the top 10 in the country. However, Peloquin unleashed a lethal kick to take down Alice Wright in Madison, marking her second major victory at an invitational meet after winning the Roy Griak Invitational three weeks ago over No. 2 Erin Finn. At the end of the day, Boise State could have an individual champion but drop from No. 8 to No. 25 after finishing 18th as a team at Wisconsin.

The Stanford squad is experiencing the tough injury bug as top runner Elise Cranny "tweaked" her foot during the pre-meet practice one day before Pre-Nationals. Head coach Elizabeth DeBole held Cranny out as a "precaution," according to the Stanford athletic communications department. Cranny was seen walking on crutches while her teammates collected a sixth-place team finish in Terre Haute. Without the NCAA runner-up, the team saw solid performances from freshman debuts--Christina Aragon finished 41st overall and third for the team; Ella Donaghu finished 47th and fourth for the team.