2017 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country Region Rankings – Week 4

NEW ORLEANS – If you don’t like change, avert your eyes from the newest NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Out of 135 spots in the Regional Rankings (15 teams are ranked in each of the nine regions), only 48 remained in place from Week 3 to Week 4.

REGIONAL RANKINGS – SUMMARY PDF
REGIONAL RANKINGS – 2017 Week By Week
REGIONAL RANKINGS – All-Time Week By Week

For those who don’t know or need a refresher, the USTFCCCA Regional Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each of the nine respective regions. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams’ strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining team finishing order at the upcoming NCAA Division I Regional Cross Country Championships.

This year the NCAA Regional Championships will be held on Friday, November 10.

Great Lakes Region

Michigan State is the new No. 1 team in the Great Lakes Region.

The Spartans jumped up from No. 2 to No. 1 after top-ranked Wisconsin finished eighth at the Cross Country Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. Michigan State last raced two weeks ago at the Roy Griak Invitational where it finished runner-up to Colorado State.

Indiana captured the team title at its own Sam Bell Invitational this past weekend and moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 in the process.

Michigan jumped two spots from No. 5 to No. 3 after its fourth-place finish at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational this past weekend.

Formerly top-ranked Wisconsin fell from No. 1 all the way to No. 4, while Purdue rounds out the top-5 in Week 4.

Mid-Atlantic Region

We saw a preview of the Regional Championship at the Paul Short Run – and how a team finished in correlation to the regional counterparts is how it is ranked this week.

Georgetown remains No. 1 after beating out the rest of the region and finishing runner-up to Utah State in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Penn took fourth in the meet, one spot ahead of Navy. Therefore, the Quakers come in at No. 2 and the Midshipmen are No. 3. That was a one spot jump for Penn and a one spot fall for Navy.

Princeton and Penn State didn’t run at Paul Short, but their performances at the Cross Country Classic and Cowboy Jamboree left them in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Midwest Region

Oklahoma State won the Cowboy Jamboree this past weekend in thrilling fashion over Ole Miss and remained No. 1 in the ranking. The Cowboys went 1-2 with Sylvester Barus and Hassan Abdi and followed with places No. 6, No. 10 nd No. 23 for 42 team points.

Illinois and Iowa State didn’t budge either, as the former comes in at No. 2 and the latter at No. 3.

Minnesota leapfrogged Tulsa after this past weekend. The fourth-ranked Gophers last raced at their own Roy Griak Invitational and took fourth place. The Golden Hurricane finished fifth at the Cowboy Jamboree behind Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Penn State and Iowa Central CC.

Mountain Region

Northern Arizona and BYU both proved their mettle this past weekend – and that’s why they’re No. 1 and No. 2 in one of the toughest regions in the country.

The Lumberjacks and Cougars steamrolled the competition at their respective meets. NAU dominated at the Cross Country Classic to the tune of 19 points, while BYU crushed two ranked teams from the West Region at the Bill Dellinger Invitational and posted just 17 points.

Southern Utah upset Colorado at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational and takes over third place, while the Buffaloes fall to fourth. The Thunderbirds are expected to have a huge jump in the National Coaches’ Poll when it’s released tomorrow afternoon.

Colorado State didn’t race this past weekend and comes in at No. 5.

Northeast Region

Very few things changed in the Northeast Region during this past weekend.

Syracuse is still No. 1 and rightfully so – and is followed by No. 2 Columbia, which cemented its position after its runner-up showing at the Sam Bell Invitational.

Iona comes in at No. 3 and rested most of its top runners while the others competed at the Paul Short Run.

Brown and Army come in at No. 4 and No. 5 this week, respectively.

South Region

Nothing changed in the top-3 of the South Region rankings but Alabama could make things difficult if it finds some depth.

Middle Tennessee State and Ole Miss come in at No. 1 and No. 2, but the Crimson Tide is the most interesting group in the top-3. Alabama saw its top-3 runners finished 1-2-3 for the second meet in a row and this one was even bigger with it being the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. The Crimson Tide finished eighth as a team, but the top-end talent is there with Alfred Chelanga, Gilbert Kigen and Vincent Kiprop.

Georgia Tech and Georgia moved up to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, from Week 3 to Week 4.

South Central Region

The only changes to the top-5 of the South Central Region from Week 3 to Week 4 were McNeese State and Baylor swapping spots from No. 5 to No. 4 and No. 4 to No. 5, respectively.

Arkansas, Texas and Texas A&M are still No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. Both the Razorbacks and Longhorns impressed this past weekend as the former won the Chile Pepper Festival going away and the latter beat three nationally-ranked teams in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Southeast Region

Both Furman and Virginia Tech stood out at the Cross Country Classic this past weekend and sit in prime position to make the NCAA Championships according to our ranker. The Paladins remained No. 1 and justifiably so after their runner-up finish in Louisville, Kentucky, while the Hokies – who finished third as a team in that same race – come in at No. 3.

The rest of the top-5 was jumbled up as Virginia fell from No. 2 to No. 3, Eastern Kentucky went from No. 5 to No. 4 and NC State went from No. 4 to No. 5.

West Region

Nothing changed at the top of the West Region as Stanford and Oregon are still No. 1 and No. 2 following second- and third-place finishes at the Bill Dellinger Invitational behind BYU.

Boise State moved up to No. 3 after a strong showing at the Cross Country Classic. The Broncos finished fourth in the Gold Race behind Northern Arizona, Furman and Virginia Tech.

UCLA didn’t race but is still riding high from its third-place effort at the Roy Griak Invitational and Washington moved up to No. 5 behind the Bruins after its effort in Springfield, Oregon.