2018 NCAA DII Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 7
NEW ORLEANS – Conference Championship Weekend brought changes galore to the latest edition of the NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday.
The newest rankings saw the crowning of three new No. 1 teams for the men in the Atlantic, Central and East Regions while the women’s side got a new No 1 in the Atlantic. Out of the combined 16 regions between men’s and women’s programs, the women’s Southeast Region was the only one not to experience any movement to its top-five teams.
Jump to Regional Coaches’ Rankings:
MEN: Atlantic | Central | East | Midwest | South | South Central | Southeast | West
WOMEN: Atlantic | Central | East | Midwest | South | South Central | Southeast | West
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.
ATLANTIC REGION
There’s a new No. 1 on the men’s side of the Atlantic Region as Edinboro moved back into the top-spot after a team title at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships. The Fighting Scots had five All-PSAC honorees at the meet as they captured their first conference championship since 2012.
Remaining steady at No. 2 was Charleston (W. Va.). Shippensburg (down two spots), Lock Haven (up two) and Kutztown (no change) rounded out the region’s top-five.
There was also a new top team on the women’s side as Shippensburg took the top spot in the region for the first time this season. The Raiders raced to the victory at the PSAC Championships by the closest margin in conference championships history. Shippensburg knocked off defending champion Edinboro by just two points. It was the program’s first conference title since 2016.
No. 2 belonged to Edinboro after the close race at PSACs. California (Pa.) climbed three spots to No. 3 while No. 4 Seton Hill (up one spot) and No. 5 Lock Haven (down two) made up the rest of the top-five.
CENTRAL REGION
There was also a new No. 1 on the men’s side of the Central Region as Sioux Falls claimed the top spot for the first time this year. USF placed four runners in the top-five as the program captured its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) title in school history this past weekend.
No. 2 Missouri Southern (up one spot), No. 3 Augustana (S.D./down two), No. 4 Neb.-Kearney (up two) and No. 5 MSU Moorhead (up two) created the rest of the top-five. Missouri Southern won the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championships.
There was no change to the top of the women’s region as No. 1 U-Mary and No. 2 Augustana (S.D.) held in their previous positions. U-Mary won its three-straight NSIC Championships while Augustana (S.D.) finished runner-up at the meet. The Marauders captured the conference crown with a near-perfect 19-point performance.
Pittsburg State advanced two spots to No. 3 after a win at the MIAA Championships while No. 4 Oklahoma Baptist (down one) and No. 5 Southwest Baptist (down one) remained in the top-five.
EAST REGION
The East Region kept the new No. 1’s coming as Southern Connecticut moved into the top spot for the first time in program history. The firsts started this past weekend for the Owls as they captured the program’s first Northeast-10 Conference Championships after four athletes finished in the top-15.
Trading spots with them at No. 2 was Northeast-10 runner-up Stonehill. No. 3 American International (no change), No. 4 Southern New Hampshire (no change) and No. 5 Roberts Wesleyan (up one spot) were also in the top-five.
The women’s side of the region didn’t experience as much movement but the changes that did happen saw some programs in previous uncharted territories.
The top-three of the East held with No. 1 Roberts Wesleyan, No. 2 Stonehill and No. 3 Merrimack. Roberts Wesleyan won the East Coast Conference (ECC) Championships while Stonehill did the same at the Northeast-10 Championships. Merrimack was the runner-up in the Northeast-10.
Big improvements were made by No. 4 Assumption (up six spots) and No. 5 Saint Rose (previously unranked) after strong performances at the Northeast-10 Championships. Assumption placed third while SR finished in fourth.
MIDWEST REGION
The trend of new No. 1’s takes a little bit of a break as the top teams in the rest of the regions didn’t experience as much shake up as regions touched upon up to this point.
Grand Valley State kept the top spot on the men’s side of the Midwest after capturing the program’s 17th consecutive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships over the weekend. The Lakers had six First Team Al-GLIAC recipients and recorded 19 points in the win.
No. 2 Saginaw Valley State experienced no change from its previous ranking while No. 3 Malone, No. 4 Walsh and No. 5 Southern Indiana each improved one spot. Malone won the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championships and Southern Indiana did the same at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships.
Grand Valley State also held at No. 1 on the women’s side after its 18th-straight GLIAC Conference Championships. The Lakers had six runners earn All-GLIAC honors and captured the title with 17 points.
There was little movement to the rest of the top-five which consisted of No. 2 Walsh (no change), No. 3 Michigan Tech (up one), No. 4 Hillsdale (up one) and No. 5 Cedarville (up three). Walsh was crowned champions of the G-MAC.
SOUTH REGION
The No. 1 spot in the South stayed with Lee (Tenn.) after the program captured its fourth-straight Gulf South Conference (GSC) Championships. The Flames placed six runners in the top-20 on the way to record 49 points.
No. 2 Embry-Riddle (Fla./up one spot), No. 3 Mississippi College (up one), No. 4 Alabama-Huntsville (down two) and No. 5 Florida Southern (up one) were the rest of the programs in the top-five. Embry-Riddle won the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Championships.
The top-ranked women’s program was also Lee (Tenn.) after a team title at the GSC Championships. The unit placed all five scored athletes in the top-20 of the meet to post a total of 46 points. It was the second-straight conference championship for the program.
The rest of the top-five was made up by No. 2 Tampa (no change), No. 3 Embry-Riddle (Fla./up one spot), No. 4 Alabama-Huntsville (down one) and No. 5 Saint Leo (up two). Tampa was the only conference winner out of these programs as it captured the SSC Championships.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
The No. 1 spot in the South Central remained with Adams State after yet another team title at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Championships .The Grizzlies placed four of their five scored athletes in the top-10 to post 30 points against one of the most stacked conference meets ran in DII this past weekend. It was the 37th RMAC Conference Championship won in program history and the first since 2015.
There was little change to the rest of the rankings as the top-five was made up by No. 2 Colorado Mines (no change), No. 3 Western State (no change), No. 4 CSU-Pueblo (no change), and No. 5 UC-Colorado Springs (up one spot). The entire top-five raced at the RMAC Championships.
Adams State also held at the top of the women’s rankings after a team title at the RMAC Championships, the seventh-straight crown for the program and 31st overall in school history. The Grizzlies had five runners in the top-10 to record 27 points, a nine-point margin over runner-up Western State.
The rest of the top-five remained pretty much intact with No. 2 Western State (no change), No. 3 Colorado Mines (no change), No. 4 Dallas Baptist (up one spot) and No. 5 Black Hills State (up one). Dallas Baptist won the Heartland Conference Championship.
SOUTHEAST REGION
The Southeast Region brought a stop to any fun the rankings were having as not a single change occurred to the women’s rankings and just one happened for the men.
On the men’s side, the No. 1 spot belonged to Queens (N.C.) who was followed by No. 2 Mount Olive, No. 3 UNC Pembroke, No. 4 Augusta and No. 5 Flagler. Queens won the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Championships over the weekend after it placed six athletes in the top-seven and posted 19 points.
Mount Olive also captured its seventh-straight team title at the Conference Carolinas Championship and UNC Pembroke took home the top prize at the Peach Belt Conference Championships. Position Nos. 2-4 all stayed in place while Flager was the only team to experience movement with a one spot ascend.
The top spot on the women’s side also went to Queens (N.C.) after a team title at the SAC Championships. The Royals placed five athletes in the top-10 to score 26 points.
No. 2 Mount Olive, No. 3 Flagler, No. 4 Anderson (S.C.) and No. 5 North Georgia compiled the rest of the top-five. Mount Olive won its four-straight Conference Carolinas Championships while Flagler captured its second-ever title at the Peach Belt Conference Championships. There was no movement at all to the top-five.
WEST REGION
There was no change to the top of the men’s West Region as Chico State held at No. 1 for the eighth-straight ranking. The Wildcats are fresh off a win at the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships after the program had all ten athletes it raced earn All-Conference honors. It was the 17th consecutive title in school history.
Alaska Anchorage improved one spot to No. 2 after a victory at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships. It was the program’s eighth title in the past nine years. No. 3 Simon Fraser (down one spot), No. 4 Western Washington (up one), and No. 5 Cal State San Marcos (up two) rounded out the rest of the top-five.
Chico State was also the top women’s team in the West for the eighth-straight week as the Wildcats collected their 11th consecutive CCAA Championships. Chico State placed four athletes in the top-five and scored 24 points in their title-winning performance.
Alaska Anchorage again moved up one to No. 2 after the women also won the GNAC Championships. It was the Seawolves ninth title in ten seasons. No. 3 Simon Fraser (down one spot), No. 4 Seattle Pacific (up one) and No. 5 Azusa Pacific (down one) completed the region’s top-five.
