Big Changes in Week Three Atop the Division II Cross Country National Polls

NEW ORLEANS – Now a full month into the NCAA Division II Cross Country season, a number of teams are in unfamiliar territory – for better or for worse – in the third regular-season National Coaches’ Poll released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

A pair of top-five teams in the No. 3 Minnesota Duluth women and No. 4 Southern Indiana men moved into their best positions in the poll dating back to the beginning of the USTFCCCA archive in 2000, while the No. 6 Western State men are outside the top five for the first time in half a decade.

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Division II XC Polls/Rankings Central

NCAA Division II National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Adams St. GVSU Chico St. Southern Indiana Colorado Mines View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll NCAA Division II National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) GVSU Adams St. Minnesota Duluth Western St. Chico St. View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

UMD was third in the 27-team Gold race at Notre Dame with 154 points (though two-time defending national champ No. 1 Grand Valley State won handily with just 56 points) to move up one spot from a week ago. The Bulldogs traded positions with Western State.

Southern Indiana was ninth in the 28-team Greater Louisville Classic Gold race behind a pair of low-sticks in overall fifth- and sixth-place finishers Johnnie Guy and Tyler Pence.

USI’s performance in Louisville was one factor in the Screaming Eagles’ one-spot improvement from a week ago; the other was Western State‘s performance at the Colorado Rocky Mountain Shootout. The Mountaineers entered the weekend as the No. 3 team in the country, but lost out to Colorado Mines for second behind reigning DI champ Colorado, 56-63.

Western State, which ran without former National Athlete of the Week Keifer Johnson, consequently dropped to No. 6, outside the top five for the first time since week seven of the 2008 season. Colorado Mines, which put three guys across the line before Western’s No. 2, improved one spot to No. 5.

Chico State, which had been tied with Western for No. 3 in the country, took sole possession of that spot.

Another RMAC team that took a precipitous tumble were the women of No. 18 Metro State, who finished third at their home invitational to drop 13 spots. Winning that meet were the UC-Colorado Springs women, who jumped up eight spots into a tie at No. 10 with Wayne State (Mich.).

Moving up to take Metro State’s place in the top five was Chico State.

Sitting above the fray were the top two teams in both genders, unchanged from a week ago.

Both the previously mentioned GVSU women and the two-time defending men’s champion No. 1 Adams State men easily took care of business this past weekend – the Grizzly men were third in the Gold race at Paul Short with the race’s best one-through-four contingent – but both No. 2 teams looked susceptible to top Division III squads.

The No. 2 GVSU men narrowly defeated Division III’s No. 1 North Central (Ill.) by just 11 points, 71-82, at Notre Dame for the Gold race team win, while the No. 2 Adams State women lost out to two-time reigning DIII champs No. 1 Johns Hopkins in the Paul Short Gold race by 50 points, 315-368.

Further down the men’s poll, much of the remaining top-10 men’s teams from a week ago remained the same – No. 7 Alaska Anchorage, No. 8 Lock Haven and No. 9 Augustana (S.D.) were static – with Mount Olive moving up one spot to rejoin the top 10.

Rounding out the women’s top ten were a number of teams achieving their best ranks in some time.

No. 6 Hillsdale moved up two spots from a week ago following a strong 11th-place showing in the Gold race at Louisville. Incidentally, the No. 13 Hillsdale men also had a good day themselves at Louisville to move up 11 spots – the polls’ biggest move of the week.

Augustana (S.D.) remained No. 7, while No. 8 Simon Fraser moved up one spot from last time. Right behind the Clan is West Region rival No. 9 UC San Diego, ranked in the single digits for the first time since week two of the 2006 season. The aforementioned duo of UCCS and Wayne State rounded out the top 10.

While UCCS spent much of last season inside the top 10, Wayne State is ranked this highly for the first time since the end of the 2008 season.

Just outside the men’s top 10, No. 11 American International – led by Paul Short Gold race winner and two-time 2014 National Athlete of the Week Mike Biwott – moved up into a tie for its best rank dating back to the start of the USTFCCCA archives. The Yellow Jackets were also No. 11 in week seven of the 2012 season.

Keeping with the 11 theme, that’s how many spots the Ashland men dropped following a decisive All-Ohio Championships loss to GLIAC rival Malone to check in at No. 20. Malone entered the poll for the first time this season at No. 19.

Notable among the six teams new or returning to the poll are the women of No. 17 Roberts Wesleyan. Not only are the Redhawks ranked nationally for the first time this season following their 20th-place finish in Louisville’s Gold race, but also for the first time as a Division II institution. They just completed their transition from the NAIA.

Also new to the polls were the men of No. 23 Stonehill and No. 24 Lewis, while the women of No. 24 Saginaw Valley State and No. 25 Lewis both returned after dropping out earlier this season.

The Division II National Championships will be held Saturday, December 6, in Louisville, Kentucky.