NEW ORLEANS—Despite some unexpected results on the biggest weekend of the NCAA Division I Cross Country season season to this point, changes were relatively minimal in the week three edition of the Regional Team Rankings released Monday by the U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Regional Rankings Summary PDF | Division I XC Rankings Central
MORE INFO: Week-by-Week 2014 | Week-by-Week Since 2010
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Three meets caused the most movement: Minnesota’s Roy Griak Invitational, Boston College’s Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown, and Virginia’s Panorama Farms Invitational.

The latter was responsible for the biggest shakeup in the men’s rankings and the only new regional No. 1: theVirginia men in the Southeast.  Coach Pete Watson’s Cavaliers earned their first regional No. 1 since at least 2010 (the beginning of the USTFCCCA archives) for winning their home meet over national No. 12 Iona and previously unranked Furman.

Speaking of Robert Gary’s Furman squad: they’re the biggest mover in the country in week 3, after beating Iona and nearly upending UVA at Panorama.  The Paladins jump nine spots from No. 12 to No. 3 in the Southeast; since they’ve never had a men’s or women’s team regionally ranked higher than fifth before.

The other eight men’s regions all saw minor movement.  Host Minnesota’s strong run at Griak shuffled up spots No. 4 through 8 in the Midwest. 

Nearly all of the top men’s squads in the Northeast Region faced off in Boston on Friday afternoon, greatly clarifying the picture there.  Slots No. 2 through 7 all changed, with Ray Treacy’s Providence Friars emerging behind Syracuse as No. 2.

Even more Northeast women’s teams raced each other at Franklin Park, causing teams No. 3 through 13 to change places.  Dartmouth, helmed by first-year head coach Courtney Jaworski, emerged at the front of that shuffle at No. 3.

In the South Central, idle Arkansas extended its streak at regional No. 1 to 18 weeks.  Creeping up behind the Razorbacks, though, is No. 2 Baylor, which was rewarded for a strong third-place Griak showing over several nationally ranked teams with its highest regional ranking since at least 2010.

Spicy Griak action also caused a bit of a shakeup in the Mountain Region, as teams No. 4 through 10 all moved, mostly because of a tumble by Weber State from No. 4 to No. 10. Replacing Weber State at No. 4 is Northern Arizona, which checked in at its highest ranking since 2010.

Nearly every elite team in the country that didn’t race this past weekend will be hitting the trails on Friday atNotre Dame or Saturday at Paul Short or the brand-new Washington Invitational.

NCAA Division I Regional Championships will be held around the country Friday, November 14.

USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning team strength with current-season results in determining predicted team finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships.