2017 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country Region Rankings – Week 6

NEW ORLEANS – A long-standing streak ended and several new teams vaulted to the top spots of their respective regions in the most recent NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings that were released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) following Conference Championship Weekend.

There are four new No. 1 teams in the rankings with less than two weeks to go until the NCAA Division I Regional Championships on November 10. Remember: The top-2 teams in each region earn automatic bids to the 2017 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on November 18 in Louisville, Kentucky.

REGIONAL RANKINGS – SUMMARY PDF
REGIONAL RANKINGS – 2017 Week By Week
REGIONAL RANKINGS – All-Time Week By Week

For those who don’t know or need a refresher, the USTFCCCA Regional Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each of the nine respective regions. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams’ strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining team finishing order at the upcoming NCAA Division I Regional Cross Country Championships.

Great Lakes Region

Michigan and Michigan State remain No. 1 and No. 2 following an epic battle at the Big Ten Championships. The Wolverines used a strong team effort to pack up and toppled the Spartans by a score of 71-82. Michigan State had more top-end power with runners finishing third and fifth, but Michigan sent six across before its rival saw the fourth complete the 8K tract.

Wisconsin took third at the Big Ten Championships and moved up to third in the region. Oliver Hoare and Joe Hardy finished first and second overall, respectively.

Mid-Atlantic Region

Georgetown is a firm No. 1 in the Mid-Atlantic Region following a clear victory at the BIG EAST Championships. The Hoyas scored 40 points (1-4-7-12-16) to hold off runner-up Butler.

Princeton made it look easy at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships and move up to second in the region. The Tigers scored just 28 points (2-3-4-9-10) to beat Columbia and Penn, as Noah Kauppila was the top finisher for them in second. The Quakers, who had been ranked second in the region for the past two weeks, fell to third.

Midwest Region

Oklahoma State had been ranked No. 1 for the past 61 weeks in a row, but that streak ends today as Iowa State is the new No. 1. The Cyclones beat the Cowboys at the Big 12 Championships this past weekend (Texas did too, for that matter) and to the victors belong the spoils.

Iowa State crammed five men into the top-15, led by a 4-5-6 finish by Andrew Jordan, Thomas Pollard and Dan Curts. The key to the Cyclones’ win was Stanley Langat and Milo Greder who finished 11th and 14th, respectively, to round out the scoring lineup.

Oklahoma State, which is now No. 2, got a 1-2 finish in Round Rock, Texas from Hassan Abdi (24:11.2) and Luis Martinez (24:12.5).

Illinois moved up to No. 3 behind the Cowboys after a fourth place finish at the Big Ten Championships.

Mountain Region

BYU and Northern Arizona both won their conference titles this past weekend, but only the Cougars swept the proceedings and that impressed the regional ranker.

Running against Portland, the third-ranked team in the nation, BYU cruised to a victory at the West Coast Conference Championships. The Cougars got the individual win from Connor McMillan, while Daniel Carney, Casey Clinger, Rory Linkletter and Clayton Young followed close behind. BYU moved up to No. 1 in the Mountain Region for the first time since Week 4 of 2012.

The Lumberjacks received a tougher test than expected from Southern Utah at the Big Sky Championships. NAU won 24 to 36 and is now No. 2 in the Mountain Region.

Everything else remained the same as Colorado is No. 3, Mountain West champ Colorado State is No. 4 and the Thunderbirds come in at No. 5.

Northeast Region

Syracuse and Iona remain No. 1 and No. 2 in the Northeast Region after capturing the team titles at their respective conference championships. The Orange rolled to a victory at the ACC, while the Gaels won yet another MAAC crown.

Columbia finished runner-up at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships and is No. 3.

South Region

Middle Tennessee State and Alabama leapfrogged Ole Miss in the final regional rankings before the South Region Championships on November 10.

The Blue Raiders are No. 1 after running exceptionally well at the Conference USA Championships. Middle Tennessee State went 1-2 with Jacob Choge and Kigen Chemadi and totaled 31 points to Charlotte’s 38.

The Crimson Tide one-upped the Blue Raiders and saw its runners go 1-2-3, like usual, with Vincent Kiprop, Gilbert Kigen and Alfred Chelanga up front. Alabama packed up well behind them and edged the Rebels by a score of 81 to 82 for second place. The Crimson Tide is No. 2 in the South Region and is the highest ranking since 2010.

South Central Region

Texas, Arkansas and Texas A&M are still No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in the South Central Region.

The Longhorns finished second at the Big 12 Championships behind Iowa State and were led by Sam Worley, who took third overall. Worley was just one second from winning.

The Razorbacks won yet another SEC crown and did so convincingly. Arkansas scored 41 points to beat the rest of the field by 40 points. Alex George was the top finisher for the Razorbacks as he took fourth behind the talented Alabama trio.

Southeast Region

Nothing changed in the top-3 from Week 5 to Week 6 as Furman, Virginia Tech and NC State still hold down those spots.

The Paladins swept the Southern Conference Championships, while the Hokies and Wolfpack finished second and third at the ACC Championships behind Syracuse.

Virginia jumped six spots from No. 10 to No. 4 after finishing fourth at ACCs.

West Region

Stanford is once again No. 1 in the West Region thanks to its championship effort at the Pac-12 Championships this past weekend. Led by Grant Fisher’s individual title, the Cardinal toppled Colorado and in turn ended Portland’s brief reign atop the region.

The Pilots fell to No. 2 after being swept by BYU at the West Coast Conference Championships.

UCLA moved up to No. 3 thanks to a third-place effort at the Pac-12 Championships and Oregon and Washington follow at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.