New No. 1 Emerges in Newest NCAA DII Regional Rankings

NEW ORLEANS –With the release of Tuesday’s week five edition of the NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Rankings, the stage is now largely set for another exciting postseason.

Ahead of conference championships in two weeks’ time, a new regional No. 1 emerged in the women’s West Region and several other regions experienced some rearrangement in the rankings announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

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Cal Baptist claimed the top spot in the West for the first time in program history, as former favorite Chico State faltered at the UC San Diego Triton Classic. The Lancers, who rested their “A” team, were the beneficiaries as the somewhat shorthanded Wildcats fell to regional foe Point Loma Nazarene.

Point Loma also got a nice bump from the performance, moving from outside the bubble in the six-bid West Region at No. 7 up three spots to No. 4. Remember, each region is allotted a fixed number of bids to the NCAA Championships, based on the order of finish at the Regional Championships on Nov. 5-6.

That wasn’t the only big move out West, though. Alaska Anchorage, buoyed by the return of All-American Joyce Chelimo, moved up three spots to No. 3, and Simon Fraser climbed three spots into qualifying position at No. 5.

Perhaps the busiest region in the men’s rankings came from the opposite shore of America, as nine of the ten teams in the East checked in with a different rank than a week ago. Stonehill moved up to No. 2 and Southern New Hampshire moved inside the bubble of the three-bid East. Former No. 2 Bentley dropped three spots to No. 5.

It was also an eventful weekend in the Southeast for the men, as eight of its teams moved around. No new teams moved into qualifying position, however, as Mars Hill and Queens (N.C.) traded spots at Nos. 2 and 3. Flagler moved onto the bubble in the three-bid region at No. 4.

Also moving up inside the bubbles of their respective regions were the Fort Hays State (Central) women and the men of Alabama-Huntsville (South).

See the full regional rankings below.

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 19 based on their finishes at these regional championships on November 5-6, with each region allotted a specific number of NCAA Championship berths based on 2015 results.

These rankings aim to predict how teams will fare within those regional championship races. They 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.