2017 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country Region Rankings – Week 5

NEW ORLEANS – Four teams jumped to No. 1 in their respective regions in the most recent NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

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 is No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region for the first time since 2015 after a strong effort at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. The Wolverines finished eighth in the team standings and topped former top-ranked region rival Michigan State by two points. Michigan was led by senior Ben Flanagan, who finished 22nd individually.

The Spartans fell to No. 2 in front of Purdue, which is the new No. 3. The Boilermakers also fared well in Wisconsin as they topped several teams that were ranked ahead of them in the last regional rankings. This is the best regional ranking in the past seven years for Purdue.

Eastern Michigan and Wisconsin is fourth and fifth, respectively in Week 5.

Mid-Atlantic Region

Nothing changed atop the regional rankings as Georgetown and Penn remain No. 1 and No. 2 for the second week in a row.

Princeton and Navy swapped spots as the former went from No. 4 to No. 3 and the latter fell from No. 3 to No. 4. The Tigers easily won their own invitational this weekend as they put four in the top-15 and topped Guelph by 54 points.

Penn State rounds out the top-5 for the sixth consecutive week.

Midwest Region

Oklahoma State isn’t budging from the top spot in the Midwest Region. The Cowboys rolled to a team title at the Penn State National Open this past weekend and remains No. 1, a place they have occupied every week since at least 2010.

Minnesota jumped from No. 4 to No. 2 and owns its best regional mark in the past seven years. The Golden Gophers finished 12th at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational this past weekend and beat both Iowa State and Illinois, who were ranked ahead of them in Week 4.

Speaking of the Cyclones and Illini, they come in at No. 3 and No. 4 this week. Iowa rounds out the top-5 after climbing one spot from No. 6.

Mountain Region

Don’t expect Northern Arizona or BYU to fall from No. 1 or No. 2 anytime soon with how they’re running. The Lumberjacks and Cougars rolled to respective team titles at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational and the Pre-National Invitational this past weekend.

Colorado took over the No. 3 spot behind NAU and BYU following a runner-up effort at the Pre-National Invitational. The Buffs put three in the top-15, led by Joe Klecker in ninth.

Colorado State is now No. 4 after finishing sixth in Wisconsin. This is the sixth time in the past seven years that the Rams have been ranked fourth in the Mountain Region.

Southern Utah fell one spot from No. 4 to No. 5.

Northeast Region

Syracuse is No. 1 once again, but a whole bunch changed behind it in the rankings.

Iona moved to No. 2 behind the Orange, leapfrogging Columbia in the process. The Gaels and Lions went head to head this past weekend in Wisconsin and the former finished 16 places better than the latter.

Army West Point jumped one spot to No. 4 from No. 5 and Boston University soared nine spots from No. 14 to No. 5 for its best ranking in the past seven years.

South Region

Welcome back to the No. 1 spot, Ole Miss. The Rebels finished fifth at the Pre-National Invitational this past weekend and jumped over former No. 1 Middle Tennessee State.

The Blue Raiders won a tie-breaker over Alabama at the Crimson Classic and got an individual win from sophomore Jacob Choge.

The Crimson Tide remains No. 3, while Georgia Tech and Tennessee round out the top-5.

South Central Region

Arkansas and Texas squared off at the Pre-National Invitational this past weekend.

The Longhorns came out on top as they finished seventh to the Razorbacks’ ninth and took over the top spot in the South Central Region because of it. This is the first time since 2012 that Texas has been ranked No. 1 in the region and the first time since then that the Razorbacks haven’t been No. 1.

Texas A&M, McNeese State and Baylor remain No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5.

Southeast Region

Furman and Virginia Tech proved their mettle this past weekend and cemented their spots atop the Southeast Region for yet another week. The Paladins finished fifth at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, while the Hokies nabbed fourth place at the Pre-National Invitational.

NC State moved up to No. 3 and Campbell is the new No. 4. The Wolfpack finished 15th in Wisconsin and the Camels earned eighth place in Kentucky with just five runners.

Eastern Kentucky fell from No. 4 to No. 5.

West Region

From No. 6 to No. 1: The story of the Portland Pilots.

Portland impressed this past weekend at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational as they placed runner-up behind Northern Arizona. The Pilots put three in the top-15 as Jeff Thies and Nick Hauger kicked into high gear in the final 2K of the race.

Stanford and Oregon shuffled down to No. 2 and No. 3, while UCLA remained No. 4.

Washington State jumped from No. 8 to No. 5 after it finished 13th in Wisconsin.