Griak, Stanford Results Shake Up Division II XC National Coaches Polls

NEW ORLEANS – While the top of the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Coaches Polls stayed relatively intact, the second regular-season edition released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) revealed significant movement throughout the rest of the polls.

National Coaches Poll PDFs: Top 25 Summary | Week-by-Week 2014 | Week-by-Week All-Time
Regional Rankings PDF: Regional Summary | Regional Week-by-Week

Division II XC Polls/Rankings Central

NCAA Division II National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) t3) t3) 5) Adams St. GVSU Western St. Chico St. Southern Indiana View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll NCAA Division II National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) GVSU Adams St. Western St. Minnesota Duluth Metro St. View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

Apart from a bit of coincidental polling that saw the Chico State men move up into a tie at No. 3 and the Chico state women drop out of a tie at No. 5, the top five teams for both sexes remained the same.

The results of Minnesota’s Roy Griak Invitational, the Stanford Invitational and several other big meets around the country shook up the rest of the top-25, however.

The No. 6 Colorado Mines men were the last team to hold steady before an avalanche of change throughout the rest of the men’s poll. No. 7 Alaska Anchorage and No. 8 Lock Haven both moved up a spot as Augustana (S.D.) dropped into a tie at No. 9 following a team loss at the Griak, albeit without All-American Harold Karbo. That spot for the Vikings is their lowest in the poll since the end of the 2010 season.

That set up a tale of two teams tied at No. 9, as Ashland moved up four spots to its highest position since the 2002 preseason – its only other top-10 appearance of the new millennium.

That Roy Griak loss by Augustana? It came courtesy of No. 15 UW-Parkside, this week’s biggest gainer with a seven-spot jump. The Rangers had already been in their best poll position of the new millennium at No. 22, with this improvement only furthering their historic season.

Making the only other women’s top 10 move was UC San Diego, which improved four spots up to No. 10 – its highest position since week seven of the 2007 season – following a narrow loss to both No. 6 Chico and No. 9 Simon Fraser at the Stanford Invitational.

The UCSD men were also on the rise, jumping four spots to No. 12 for the Tritons’ best rank since they were No. 9 in 2003.

Formerly in the women’s tenth spot, Winona State dropped just one position into a tie at No. 11 with Wayne State (Mich.).

Speaking of Michigan, the lone brand new team to the 2014 poll came from the state’s Upper Peninsula in the form of No. 23 Northern Michigan, which finished third in the Maroon II race at Griak. Perennially a top-10 team in the first half of the millennium’s opening decade, the Wildcats are ranked for just the fourth time in the past three seasons.

Also returning to the women’s poll was Shippensburg in a tie at No. 25 with Colorado Mines.

Looking forward to this upcoming weekend, the polls could be upturned once more with significant DII competition taking place at Lehigh’s Paul Short Run, the Greater Louisville Classic and the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival, among others.

More on those meets in Thursday’s Warm-Up Lap weekend preview, and fans can follow along with the action on the new National Results Wall.

The Division II National Championships will be held Saturday, December 6, in Louisville, Kentucky.