Three New Regional No. 1 Teams for NCAA Division II Cross Country

NEW ORLEANS – With three weeks of competition in the books since the preseason, three new teams sit atop their respective regions in the first regular-season edition of the NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Team Rankings, released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The men of Lock Haven and Florida Southern rose to the top of the Atlantic and South regions, respectively, while the lone new women’s No. 1 was Montevallo in the Southeast.

Regional Rankings Summary PDF | DII XC Rankings Central
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Lock Haven (ranked No. 12 nationally) performed well against Atlantic preseason favorite Shippensburg (No. 9 nationally) at the Dickinson Long/Short Invitational to take the top spot from the Raiders. Shippensburg dropped to No. 2.

A strong runner-up showing among non-Division I schools at the Florida Mountain Dew Invitational boosted Florida Southern up two spots in the South, while a fourth-place showing by Tampa launched it up five spots.

Preseason region favorite Saint Leo finished fifth and fell three spots to No. 4. Though the season is still quite young, but as it currently stands Saint Leo is on the outside looking in; the region will only qualify three teams to the NCAA Championships.

Montevallo‘s women won the GRU Augusta Invitational in dominant fashion to jump three spots to the pinnacle of the Southeast Region. North Georgia, the runner-up at GRU Augusta, likewise leapt three spots to the region’s No. 2 spot. Preseason favorite Wingate dropped to No. 3.

Other teams making moves toward the top? The men of Mars Hill (Southeast) and the women of Shippensburg (Atlantic), Saint Leo (South) and Simon Fraser (West) all moved to the No. 2 positions in their respective regions.

The biggest jumps in the rankings came from the aforementioned Tampa and UW-Parkside men (up five to No. 4 in the Midwest) and the women of Assumption (up five to No. 3 in the East) and Wayne State (Mich.) (up six to No. 3 in the Midwest).

Eighteen new teams joined the region rankings, with the West Alabama women joining in with the highest rank at No. 5 in the South Region. The Bentley (East) and Shorter (South) men both debuted at No. 6.

The National Coaches Polls will be released Wednesday. Regionals will be held around the country on November 22 and 23. More information can be found on the USTFCCCA’s Regional Championships Central.

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 team strength with current-season results in determining predicted team finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships.