PELLA—A shuffle in the USTFCCCA Division III Midwest Region men's cross country rankings has set the stage for a tightly contested American Rivers Conference meet Oct. 30.
           
Central College was ranked No. 6 in the last two men's regional polls with Luther College at No. 7 but Simpson College leapfrogged both teams to take over No. 6 after a strong performance at the Jim Drews Invitational at West Salem, Wisconsin last Friday. Simpson placed fourth with Central sixth and Luther seventh in the 23-team field.
           
The Dutch are now No. 7 in the region with Luther at No. 8. League rival Wartburg College is at No. 1 followed by North Central College (Ill.).
           
Meanwhile the Central women remain No. 6 after an impressive showing at the Tori Neubauer Invitational, also at West Salem, Wisconsin. The Dutch were third in a 20-team field. The next-highest league team was Simpson in ninth.
           
Wartburg is No. 1 in the region with Washington-St. Louis (Mo.) at No. 2 and Loras College at No. 4.
           
Both Central squads are off this weekend to prepare for the league meet at Decorah next week. The women's meet starts at 11 a.m. at Decorah with the men going at noon.