Griak Results Alter NCAA DII Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

NEW ORLEANS – The Roy Griak Invitational turned out to be a proving ground for NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country teams, as several teams made big moves – for better or for worse – in the newest National Coaches’ Poll.

While meet champion No. 4 U-Mary didn’t get a bump in the poll announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the top-15 was littered with teams who impressed at the Les Bolstad Golf Course.

National PDFs: Top 25 Summary | Week-by-Week 2016 | Week-by-Week All-Time
Regional Rankings PDFs: Regional Rankings Summary | Rankings Recap

Division II XC Polls/Rankings Central | MEN’S POLL

NCAA Division II National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) GVSU Adams State Chico State U-Mary Western State View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

U-Mary was part of a completely stationary top five, still headed by No. 1 Grand Valley State with five of the eight first-place votes. Defending national champion No. 2 Adams State, No. 3 Chico State, U-Mary and No. 5 Western State rounded out the top five.

The highest-ranked mover was runner-up Minnesota Duluth, which improved three spots to No. 6 after a narrow two-point loss to U-Mary, 93-95. The Bulldogs were marginally better than the Marauders through three runners, 27-28, but U-Mary was just a touch stronger in the back two-fifths of its scoring lineup, 65-68.

This is already the second time the two teams have met this season, with potentially three more showdowns slated for the postseason at the NSIC, Central Region and NCAA championships.

 No. 11 Northern Michigan jumped up six spots with its third-place effort, rebounding from a sluggish performance at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational earlier this month.

Another pair of teams made their 2016 National Coaches’ Poll top-25 debuts off the strength of their respective fourth- and fifth-place finishes at Griak: No. 14 UC-Colorado Springs and No. 15 UC San Diego.

Those two came in just ahead of No. 16 Western Washington – a team that disappointed with a sixth-place finish at Griak and dropped eight spots from last time as a result.

With Western Washington dropping out of the top-10, that opened the door for Cedarville to break into the top-10 for the first time in program history at No. 10.

No. 21 Pittsburg State also joined the poll with its seventh-place effort in Minnesota. This is the Gorillas’ first top-25 appearance since late in 2013.

See the full poll below.

The USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll for DII ranks the top 25 teams in the country. Voting panel of eight consists of the eight regional representatives, per gender.