DII Regional Shake-Ups Foreshadow Significant National Poll Shuffle

NEW ORLEANS – With only a month left until NCAA Division II Regional Championships weekend, three new teams moved to No. 1 in the newest Regional Rankings – including a very big shakeup featuring national top-five teams.

Tuesday’s new rankings from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) demoted reigning national men’s champion and national No. 1 Colorado Mines to No. 2 in the South Central Region, promoting perennial power Adams State (national No. 3) to the region’s top spot.

The move will surely have implications in the new National Coaches’ Poll due out Wednesday at noon ET. Both the men’s and women’s polls will be unveiled live via a special mini-episode of the “Cross Country U” podcast on USTFCCCA.org.

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Both Adams State and Mines were in action this weekend at Paul Short and Arkansas, respectively. The Grizzlies posted an impressive third-place finish among several nationally-ranked DI schools in the top race at Paul Short, while the Orediggers took the non-DI title at the Chile Pepper Festival over Central Region No. 1 Augustana (S.D.).

Also undergoing a shift with national top-15 implications was the top of the Atlantic Region, which is now occupied by Lock Haven (national No. 16). The Eagles finished 20th in the top race at Paul Short, while former regional favorite Shippensburg (national No. 8) dropped to No. 2 despite winning the second race at Paul Short.

It was a busy weekend in the Atlantic as it also underwent a change at the top in the women’s rankings. Shippensburg moved to No. 1 after finishing second in the second race at Paul Short, while idle Bloomsburg dropped to No. 2.

Numerous teams around the nation moved into qualifying position in their respective regions based on the results of this weekend’s meets. Remember, only a certain number of teams per region will move on to the NCAA Championships, based on the results of last year’s NCAA Championships.

Moving into potential qualifying territory for the men were Northwest Missouri (Central), Walsh (Midwest), Saint Leo (South), and Cal Baptist (West).

Temporarily positioning themselves on the right side of the bubble for the women were Southwest Baptist (Central) and CSU-Pueblo (South Central).

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 5-6, 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.