Follow our 2019 FloXC Countdown, where FloTrack ranks the top 10 cross country teams in NCAA DII/DIII this season. The 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships will be LIVE on FloTrack for all three divisions. The No. 2 DIII women’s spot goes to Washington U., and here's why:

Projected Top Five:

SR Paige Lawler (16:41 5K; 1st at ‘18 NCAA XC)

SR Sophie Watterson (17:05 5K; 13th at ‘18 NCAA XC)

JR Megan Girmscheid (112th at ‘18 NCAA XC)

SO Gabby McGinn (151st at ‘18 NCAA XC)

JR Katie Snodgrass (17:48 5K)

Impact Freshmen/Transfers:

N/A

Analysis: 

After pulling off a stunning one-point upset over Johns Hopkins last year to dash the Blue Jays’ hopes for an NCAA three-peat, the Washington U. women bring back an accomplished duo and two other NCAA-experienced runners. Even so, the Bears enter the 2019 fall as underdogs to Hopkins once more, with their chance at repeating resting on improvements from their 3-5 runners and the continued excellence of the top two.

Paige Lawler won the women’s individual title last November in a breakout performance for the then-junior. Unfortunately, she did not race at all indoors and was clearly working herself back in shape during the outdoor season. Whether she will be the best version of herself this fall remains to be seen.

Sophie Watterson, on the other hand, had a great spring to complement her 13th-place finish at 2018 cross nationals. Watterson has a beat on the No. 1 role if Lawler isn’t 100 percent yet, as she placed seventh in the NCAA 10,000m in May.

Beyond Lawler and Watterson, coach Jeff Stiles will hope for improvements from Megan Girmscheid and Gabby McGinn in 2019. McGinn placed 29th at the Pre-National meet before stumbling a bit to 151st at NCAAs. The Pre-Nats result shows she’s fully capable of the top 50 on the right day.

The Bears don’t have near the depth they did a year ago when they put four runners inside the top 30, but their pieces could still add up to a national title if the 2019 team has the same type of race as last year’s group. That scenario is reliant on Lawler coming back strong and the development of the rest of the top five, which even then might not be enough against the DIII powerhouse ahead of them.

FULL RANKINGS HERE