South Central Region Among Those Shuffled in Week Three Division II XC Regional Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – Of the 16 regions in NCAA Division II cross country (eight for men, eight for women) exactly half of them underwent changes among their top three teams in the week three edition of the Regional Team Rankings released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Regional Rankings Summary PDF | DII XC Rankings Central
QUICK LINKS: Men’s Regions | Women’s Regions

The moves with the biggest implications for Wednesday’s National Coaches’ Polls came from the South Central Region for both the men and women. Colorado Mines‘ men (No. 5 nationally) moved into the region’s second spot behind two-time defending national champion Adams State following a victory over RMAC rival Western State (No. 3 nationally) at the Colorado Rocky Mountain Shootout, 56-63.

Western State, which was running without former National Athlete of the Week Kiefer Johnson, slid to third in the South Central Region – still projected well within the six-team contingent the region will send to NCAAs on December 6 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Also of note, the Colorado Mesa men jumped from unranked in the men’s South Central – arguably the country’s toughest region – to No. 5 with a strong win at Metro State.

The women’s South Central was also shaken up as UC-Colorado Springs (No. 18 nationally) took down Metro State (No. 5 nationally) at Metro State’s Roadrunner Invitational. The Roadrunners finished third behild UCCS and Midwestern State (No. 15 nationally), 60-65-75. UCCS moved up to third in the region with the win, while Midwestern State remained fourth and Metro State dropped two spots to fifth.

In the Central Region, Winona State (No. 11 nationally) turned in a disappointing showing at the Greater Louisville Classic to drop a spot to fourth in the region – right on the edge of the region’s four bids to NCAAs. The Warriors finished 27th of 33 teams in the competitive Gold race and sixth among DII squads.

Missouri Southern (No. 14 nationally) took over the region’s third spot with a dominant win in the non-Division I competition at the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival.

One of the teams that beat Winona State in Louisville was Division II newcomer Roberts Wesleyan (receiving votes nationally), which was rewarded as this week’s lone new No. 1 team. The Redhawks – now in their first year as a full Division II member after transitioning from the NAIA – finished 20th overall and fourth among DII squads.

The men’s Central Region saw Sioux Falls (No. 18 nationally) displace Missouri Southern (No. 15 nationally) as the No. 2 team based on head-to-head results at Arkansas, while its Paul Short performance pushed Stonehill ahead of Franklin Pierce (No. 23 nationally) in the East Region.

Union (Tenn.) replaced Saint Leo as the third-ranked team in the women’s South Region with a strong 14th-place performance in the Blue race at Louisville.

Making the biggest moves of the week were the Philadelphia women in the East and the Queens (N.C.) men in the Southeast, both up six spots from a week ago. Philadelphia finished sixth of 35 in the White race at Paul Short to move up to No. 3 in the East, while Queens was 20th of 42 in the Blue race at Louisville to move to fourth in the Southeast. Both regions will qualify three teams to NCAAs.

New to this week’s men’s rankings were West Virginia Wesleyan (Atlantic), Lewis (Midwest), West Georgia (South), and Colorado Mesa (South Central).

Added to the women’s rankings this week were California (Pa.) and Indiana (Pa.) (Atlantic); Fort Hays State (Central); Delta State (South); and Chadron State (South Central).

The National Coaches Polls will be released Wednesday. Regionals will be held around the country on November 22 and 23. More information can be found on the USTFCCCA’s Regional Championships Central.

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.