Several Changes at the Top of Latest NCAA DII Regional Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – While there’s still a long way to go until regional championships weekend in NCAA Division II Cross Country, early-season events have shown the road to regionals will certainly be an entertaining and hard-fought one.

Three regions saw new squads take the lead in the first regular-season edition of the Regional Rankings, which were announced Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

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Not only did three new teams – two men’s programs and a women’s squad – ascend to No. 1 in their respective regions, but eight women’s teams and three men’s squads moved inside the NCAA Championships qualifying bubble.

The highest-profile move of the week was out in the West, where Chico State overtook Alaska Anchorage for their region’s top position. Led this weekend by All-American Will Reyes, the Wildcats posted a perfect score of 15 to win the Humboldt State Invitational with 11 of the top-12 finishers donning the Chico colors.

SF State, meanwhile, moved to No. 5 in the region to lay temporary claim to the West’s fifth and final NCAA Championships berth. No berths will actually be awarded until NCAA Regionals weekend on November 5-6.

Also moving to No. 1 in the men’s rankings was Stonehill, which leapfrogged both preseason favorite American International and Bentley to sit atop the East. The Skyhawks comfortably won the NE-10 Preview Meet over Adelphi and a shorthanded American International, 42-73-102. Great depth was on display from Stonehill as it finished with nine of the top 20 runners. AIC and Bentley were each displaced one spot to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

The lone women’s team to overtake the top spot in its region’s rankings was the host of this year’s NCAA DII Cross Country Championships, St. Leo. The Lions moved to No. 1 in the South as preseason favorite Tampa dropped three spots to No. 4. Also moving up were No. 2 Lee (Tenn.) and No. 3 Union (Tenn.).

Saint Leo topped Tampa head-to-head this weekend, 37-59 (scoring only DII teams at Florida Tech), with Colett Rampf taking the top spot among non-DI runners.

Moving inside the qualifying bubble this week were the men of Harding (No.4, Central), Florida Southern (No. 3, South), and SF State (West).

Five women’s teams moved inside their regions’ respective bubbles this week, including Slippery Rock (No. 3, Atlantic), Winona State (No. 4, Central), Cedarville (No. 5, Midwest), Union (South), and North Georgia (No. 3, Southeast).

The United States (as well as Canada and Puerto Rico) is split into eight distinct regions for both the men and the women, combining for 16 total. Teams qualify to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on November 19 based on their finishes at these regional championships on November 5, with each region allotted a specific number of NCAA Championship berths based on 2015 results.

These rankings aim to predict how teams will fare within those regional championship races. They are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining predicted team finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships.