2019 NCAA DII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 5
NEW ORLEANS – As we begin to wind down on the regular season, some shifts continue to occur throughout the NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday.
The top end of the poll remained nearly intact from a week ago, but other programs continue to steadily climb up the leaderboard following the last weekend of heavy action as teams begin their prep for conferences.
NCAA Division II — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Adams State
Adams State
2
Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State
3
Colo. School of Mines
Colo. School of Mines
4
Augustana (S.D.)
Augustana (S.D.)
5
Chico State
Chico State
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Adams State remains at the top of the poll after receiving all eight first-place votes for the six consecutive week.
The lone change in the top-5 comes from Augustana (S.D.) and Chico State trading places at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, respectively. The Vikings were second at the Lewis Crossover to No. 2 Grand Valley State, who stormed to a team title in dominating fashion in tough conditions.
The biggest jump in this week’s poll comes from Western Washington, jumping up four spots from No. 18 to No. 14. The Vikings earned the bump following a second-place finish at the Western Washington University Cross Country Classic to No. 5 Chico State and beating No. 7 Seattle Pacific and No. 16 Alaska Anchorage.
Other programs making moves on the national leaderboard include Cal State East Bay (No. 14 to No. 12) achieving their highest placement in program history, UC-Colorado Springs (No. 16 to No. 15), UC San Diego (No. 20 to No. 17), Tampa (No. 19 to No. 18), and Cal Poly Ponoma (No. 21 to No. 20).
The Tritons won the UC San Diego Triton Classic over NCAA DIII No. 13 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 30-39, Tampa placed third at the FSU Invitational behind NCAA DI Florida and No. 11 Florida State, and Cal Poly Ponoma won the Pomona Pitzer Cross Country Invite.
Three new teams enter this week’s poll following strong performances at their respective meets. Saginaw Valley State (No. 19) and Michigan Tech (No. 21) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, at the Lewis Crossover, while Malone (t-No. 23) placed third at the Royals XC Challenge behind No. 8 Lee (Tenn.) and NCAA DI No. 18 Furman.
The next National Coaches’ Poll will be released on October 30 following Conference Championship weekend.
Be sure to check back throughout the season until November 23, when the 2019 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will be held at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, California.
