NCAA DII Preseason Regional Rankings Announced

NEW ORLEANS – As the start of the 2015 NCAA Division II cross country season quickly approaches with action kicking off on Thursday, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Tuesday the preseason Regional Rankings.

Defending national men’s champion Adams State and the women’s champion Grand Valley State start the new season atop their respective South Central and Midwest regions, headlining a group of 11 teams between the men and women that carried over as 2014 regional champs to 2015 preseason favorites.

Regional Rankings Summary PDF | Division II XC Rankings Central

The United States (as well as Canada and Puerto Rico) is split into eight distinct regions for both the men and the women, combining for 16 total. Teams qualify to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on November 21 based on their finishes at the regional championships on November 7, with each region allotted a specific number of NCAA Championship berths based on 2014 results.

Not only will the GVSU women find themselves in a dogfight with 2014 runner-up Hillsdale at the NCAA Championships, but the Lakers will also have to contend with the Chargers in the Midwest Region (ranked No. 2) and the GLIAC Championships.

GVSU joins Edinboro (Atlantic), Minnesota Duluth (Central), Tampa (South), Adams State (South Central), and Montevallo (Southeast) as women’s teams that kept control of the top spot in their regions.

Adams State’s men will face an incredibly deep South Central Region without the services of three of their top five scorers from a year ago – who also happened to be three of the top overall national finishers. As always, RMAC rivals Colorado Mines (No. 2) and Western State (No. 3) will be in hot pursuit.

The Grizzlies are joined as champs-turned-preseason favorites by Lock Haven (Atlantic), Augustana (S.D.) (Central), Grand Valley State (Midwest), and Chico State (West).

Taking over the top spots in their respective regions were the Stonehill men and women (East), the men of Lee (Tenn.) (South) and Mount Olive (Southeast), and the women of Chico State (West). Lee is in its first official year of NCAA Membership after transitioning from the NAIA.

The season is not even one stride old, so take the following statement for what it is: a number of teams were projected to be much more successful than a year ago, even to the point of finding themselves within the NCAA Championships qualifying bubble.

For example, Fort Hays State’s men moved up from a 15th-place finish at the Central Regional a year ago to No. 4 in the Preseason Regional Rankings. The story is the same for the Alabama-Huntsville men in the South (sixth to No. 3) and women of Cal Baptist (eighth to No. 4 in the West) and Lewis (eighth to No. 5 in the Midwest Region).

Perhaps even more impressive are the American International women, who went from not fielding a full team at the East Regional a year ago to No. 3.

NCAA Division II Regional Championships will be held around the country on Saturday, November 7 with the NCAA Championships happening two weeks later in Joplin, Missouri.

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 teams strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining predicted team finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships.