Grand Valley State Men Narrowly Edge Adams State as Pre-NCAA DII Championships Favorites

NEW ORLEANS – For the first time since the year 2000, a team from outside the state of Colorado will enter the men’s NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships as the top-ranked team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Coaches’ Poll.

The Grand Valley State men have inched past two-time defending national champion Adams State into narrow pre-meet favorite status in the final poll of the season released Tuesday afternoon ahead of the championships on December 6 in Louisville, Kentucky.

The No. 1 rank for the Lakers is their first since at least the year 2000, which marks the beginning of the USTFCCCA polling archives. This is only the third time in the past 53 editions of the poll Adams State has not been No. 1

GVSU’s men joined their two-time defending national women’s champion GVSU teammates atop the polls. The final women’s National Coaches’ Poll, which can be viewed here, was also released Tuesday afternoon.

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NCAA Division II National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) GVSU Adams St. Colorado Mines Chico St. Augustana (S.D.) View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll

GVSU dominated the Midwest Regional for the 13th year in a row, winning, 43-91, over new No. 7 Malone. Adams State, on the other hand, again came within mere points of being upset by No. 3 Colorado Mines, this time escaping by three points at the South Central Regional, 38-41.

When we say "narrow pre-meet favorite," that’s exactly what we mean: the margin by which the GVSU men claimed the top spot over Adams State is exactly two points, 195-193. GVSU received four first-place votes from the polling committee; Adams State earned three, with No. 4 Chico State taking the final top vote.

Grand Valley’s ascension to the top snaps a streak of seven consecutive years of Adams State entering the meet as the favorite, winning five national titles in the meantime. Overall, the Grizzlies had entered NCAAs as the favorite in 10 of the past 12 seasons and left with six national titles.

If the Lakers’ recent history at NCAAs is any indication, an NCAA title is a very real possibility. Head coach Jerry Baltes has guided six GVSU men’s teams to NCAAs ranked within the top four of the final National Coaches’ Poll (equivalent to the four podium spots): his teams surpassed their pre-meet rank once (last year to finish runner-up) and equaled it three other times.

No. 3 Colorado Mines and No. 4 Chico State are in just as close a battle just behind, with just two points separating them, 180-182. Mines nearly upset Adams State at the South Central meet, while Chico State rolled to an impressive, 30-53, win over No. 6 Alaska Anchorage at the West Regional.

Moving up two spots into the top five was Augustana (S.D.), which dominated the field in the Central Region, winning 28-82-93 over No. 12 Sioux Falls and No. 14 Missouri Southern. This marks the third year in a row the Vikings will enter the meet No. 5 in the country; they finished third in 2013 and fourth in 2012.

Alaska Anchorage held steady at No. 6, ahead of a surging Malone squad that moved up five positions to a program-best No. 7 rank with its runner-up finish to Grand Valley and an upset over former No. 5 Southern Indiana.

Atlantic Champion No. 8 Lock Haven and No. 9 Western State remained in place from the most recent poll, while the aforementioned Southern Indiana men fell to No. 10.

Also of note in this final men’s National Coaches’ Poll:

• East Region champ American International moved back up to No. 11, tying its all-time program high. The Yellowjackets were ranked No. 11 going into the 2012 NCAA Championships before finishing 12th.
• No. 13 Cal Poly Pomona may have slipped three spots with a third-place finish in the West, but it still enters tied for its best pre-NCAA Championships rank since 2004. It finished 14th that year.
• No. 21 Mars Hill is in the National Coaches’ Poll for not only the first time this year, but for the first time since week two of the 2006 season. The 18-time defending South Atlantic Conference champions won the South Region to make the NCAA field for the first time since 2010. This is the best pre-NCAA rank for the Lions since entering No. 20 in 2004.
• Joining Mars Hill as a new addition to this week’s poll was No. 19 UC Colorado Springs, which is in the NCAAs field for the first time since 2012.
• Tying Malone for the biggest moves of the poll by teams ranked last time were No. 15 Ashland and No. 18 Western Washington, both up five spots.
• Notable as an "also receiving votes" squad is MSU Moorhead, which is making just its third National Coaches’ Poll appearance since 2000 and its first-ever NCAA Championships appearance.