2019 NCAA DII Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 5
NEW ORLEANS – One of the last busy weekends before the Conference Championships had an impact on the NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Rankings that were released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday.
There is one new No. 1 team and others are fighting for positions, and changing the fairly staginent landscape of the regional scene.
MEN
ATLANTIC REGION
There were no changes in the Atlantic Region from Week 4 to Week 5.
No. 1 Charleston (W.V.), No. 2 Edinboro, and No. 3 Indiana (PA.) are the three favorites to receive automatic NCAA bids. No. 4 Davis & Elkins and No. 5 Concord round out the region.
CENTRAL REGION
There was little shifting in the Central Region from Week 4 to Week 5.
No. 1 Missouri Southern, No. 2 Augustana, and No. 3 Northwest Missouri remained as the favorites to receive automatic NCAA bids.
Sioux Falls stayed at No. 4, while Fort Hays State jumped up four spots back into the No. 5 slot following a third place finish in the FHSU Tiger Open.
EAST REGION
The East had a few changes from Week 4 to Week 5.
Southern CT State University and Roberts Wesleyan stayed as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the region.
Stonehill and American International College flip flopped places from a week ago and sit at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, following the NEICAAA Championships. Southern New Hampshire rounds out the region at No. 5.
MIDWEST REGION
The Midwest saw no changes from Week 4 to Week 5 for the fourth consecutive week.
No. 1 Grand Valley State, No. 2 Southern Indiana, and No. 3 Michigan Tech remain the favorites to earn automatic bids to NCAAs, while No. 4 Walsh and No. 5 Saginaw Valley round out the region.
SOUTH REGION
There was no movement in the South from Week 4 to Week 5.
No. 1 Lee (Tenn.), No. 2 Alabama-Huntsville, and No. 3 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) remain to be the favorites in the region. Saint Leo and Florida Southern stayed at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
There was no movement among the South Central from Week 4 to Week 5.
Colorado School of Mines, Adams State, and Western Colorado sit at No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 respectively. West Texas A&M and UC-Colorado Springs remain in the No. 4 and No. 5 spots.
SOUTHEAST REGION
The Southeast saw a little bit of a shakeup at the top from Week 4 to Week 5.
For the first time this season, the new No. 1 in the Southeast is Mount Olive, moving up two spots from last week to dethrone now No. 2 Queens (N.C.). The Trojans won the Royals XC Invitational over second place Queens (N.C.) and third place Charleston (W.V.), the No. 16 and No. 9 teams in NCAA DII.
While Augusta and UNC Pembroke remained at No. 3 and No. 4, Catawba moved up three spots to No. 5. The Indians achieved their highest regional placement and are ranked in the top-5 for the first time in program history following their outing at the Royals XC Invitational and finishing ahead of regional foes Wingate, Flagler, and Anderson (S.C.).
WEST REGION
There were no changes in the West from Week 4 to Week 4.
No. 1 Chico State, No. 2 UC San Diego and No. 3 Cal State San Marcos are the favorites to earn automatic NCAA bids come November. No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona and No. 5 Cal State Stanislaus round out the top teams.
WOMEN
ATLANTIC REGION
There were no changes in the Atlantic Region from Week 4 to Week 5.
No. 1 Davis & Elkins, No. 2 Edinboro, and No. 3 Seton Hill are still favored to receive the three automatic bids to NCAAs, while West Chester and Lock Haven remain at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
CENTRAL REGION
The rankings in the Central Region saw some movement from Week 4 to Week 5.
No. 1 Augustana (S.D.) and No. 2 U-Mary continue to hold the top positions. Oklahoma Baptist, East Central (Okla.), and Central Missouri all moved up one spot to No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 respectively. The Mules achieved their highest placement in program history following their team victory at the CMU Gary Stoner Invite.
EAST REGION
There was one change in the East from Week 4 to Week 5.
No. 1 Roberts Wesleyan, No. 2 Stonehill, No. 3 Southern New Hampshire, and No. 4 Adelphi remained still. Assumption moved up one spot into the No. 5 position after defeating regional foe and former No. 5 St. Anselm at the NEICAAA Cross Country Championships.
MIDWEST REGION
There was one change in the Midwest Region from Week 4 to Week 5.
No. 1 Grand Valley State, No. 2 Hillsdale, and No. 3 Southwest Baptist continue to be the favorites to earn automatic NCAA bids for the second straight week.
Walsh remained at No. 4, while No. 5 Saginaw Valley State jumped up five spots for their first top-5 appearance of the season. The Cardinals turned in an impressive showing at the Lewis Crossover with a fourth place finish in the team standings, topping a handful of regionally and nationally ranked programs.
SOUTH REGION
No changes occurred in the South from Week 4 to Week 5.
No. 1 Lee (Tenn.), No. 2 Tampa, and No. 3 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) continue to be the favored teams to earn automatic bids to NCAAs, while No. 4 Florida Southern and No. 5 Union (Tenn.) to round out the top teams in the region.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
There was one shift in the South Central region from a week ago.
No. 1 Adams State, No. 2 Colorado School of Mines, and No. 3 Western Colorado remain the heavy favorites in the region to receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.
No. 4 UC-Colorado Springs remained steady from last week, while the new No. 5 team is Colorado Christian. The Cougars earned a bump in the rankings following their performance at the Lewis Crossover.
SOUTHEAST REGION
The Southeast Region saw a few adjustments from Week 4 to Week 5.
No. 1 Queens (N.C.) and No. 2 Wingate hold their spots for the third consecutive week. Anderson (S.C.) jumped up four spots and is the new No. 3 team after racing well against regional opponents at the Royals XC Invitational.
With the Trojans jump up, Flagler and North Georgia fell one spot each to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
WEST REGION
There were minor shifts in the West from Week 4 to Week 5.
No. 1 Chico State, No. 2 Seattle Pacific, and No. 3 Cal State East Bay remain as the favorites to claim automatic NCAA bids.
No. 4 Western Washington moved up one spot after beating No. 5 Alaska Anchorage by 4 points at the Western Washington Cross Country Classic.
