2017 NCAA DII Cross Country Regional Rankings — Week 2

NEW ORLEANS – Unlike a week ago where the cream of the crop in each region at the NCAA Division II level held their ground, we are beginning to see some change atop the leaderboard.

Three new teams have taken over the top regional spots in the second week of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Regional Rankings, announced on Tuesday. In addition to those three teams that made their move to the top of the heap this week, there were other rumblings within most of the regions after another weekend of cross country.

REGIONAL RANKINGS SUMMARY PDF
REGIONAL RANKINGS – 2017 WEEK BY WEEK
REGIONAL RANKINGS – ALL-TIME WEEK BY WEEK

For those who don’t know, the 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 teams’ strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining predicted team finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships.

COMPLETE RANKINGS: MEN | WOMEN

Atlantic Region

Shippensburg’s men’s and women’s squad continued to have a stranglehold on the top spots in both of the Atlantic Region rankings in what was a relatively uneventful week in the region.

Edinboro and Indiana (Pa.) rounded out the top-3 on the men’s side, while Edinboro and California (Pa.) did the same in the women’s rankings. West Chester’s men’s and women’s program each saw a four-spot jump in the rankings, with the men climbing to sixth and the women moving up to fourth.

Central Region

The Central Region is where we start to see some interesting movement. Sioux Falls’ men’s team made a jump up to first place, followed by a one-spot jump by Augustana into second. Missouri Southern fell to third after struggling at the Missouri Southern Stampede, where they placed third.

U-Mary remained in the lead in the women’s rankings, but Oklahoma Baptist – in its first year of NCAA eligibility – went from unranked to second in the region after placing third at the Missouri Southern Stampede and just nine points behind nationally-ranked Dallas Baptist.

East Region

Another uneventful grouping, the top-four spots in both the men’s and women’s rankings in the East Region did not change from a week ago with American International (men) and Stonehill (women) pacing the pack.

Each poll did see a new team creep into the fifth and final spot of the top-five, with Southern New Hampshire moving up four spots on the men’s side and St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) moving up from seventh in the women’s rankings.

Midwest Region

Grand Valley State continued their monopoly on first-place rankings in the Midwest Region, but things were are a bit different after the Lakers in both polls.

Hillsdale moved up three spots in the women’s rankings after giving the Lakers a run for their money at the MSU Spartan Invite, while Walsh moved up four spots to fifth for the program’s highest regional ranking.

On the men’s side, Southern Indiana held out most of its top runners at the Stegemoller Pre National Invite, but remained in second while Lewis (third) and Bellarmine (fourth) made solid leaps into their current positions.

South Region

While Lee (Tenn.) has been the lead in the men’s South Region all season, the women’s squad decided to join them atop the leaderboard this week, marking the first time the women’s program has achieved top billing in the region. The women Flames placed third at the Stegemoller Pre National Invite behind powerhouses Southern Indiana and Queens (N.C.).

Tampa also moved up to third in the women’s rankings. The men’s rankings remained largely unchanged.

South Central Region

Another week, another pair of Adams State teams leading the way in the South Central Region. But another pair of teams did happen to gain some ground in their respective rankings after winning the Missouri Southern Stampede.

Rogers State jumped up to fourth on the men’s side after three of its runners placed in the top-10 in Joplin, Missouri this past weekend. On the women’s side, Dallas Baptist moved to third with four runners in the top-15.  

Southeast Region

The Southeast Region was the only region on both the men’s and women’s side that saw absolutely no change amongst its top-10.

Mount Olive, Queens (N.C.) and Augusta remained in the top-three spots on the men’s side, respectively, while Queens (N.C.), Mount Olive and Anderson (S.C.) stayed at 1-2-3 in the women’s rankings.

West Region

A complete reshuffle of the top-four in the women’s rankings highlighted the West Region. Simon Fraser dominated the Sundodger Invitational, with five runners placing in the top-12 to lead the Clan to a first-place ranking in the region. The top billing marked a first in program history for Simon Fraser.

Following the Clan in the women’s rankings were Cal Baptist, who moved up one spot from third, and Cal State San Marcos, who climbed five spots from eighth. The latter of the two defeated Chico State at the UC-Riverside Invitational, knocking the Wildcats down to fourth in the region.

The men’s side of the rankings went unscathed from first to 10th.