Weekend Preview: 2018 NCAA DII Conference Championships

It’s finally Conference Championships Weekend in NCAA Division II Cross Country!

Teams across the nation will take to the course to battle for league bragging rights as the postseason officially gets underway.

QUICK LINKS: Conference Championships Central | This Weekend’s Meets
NATIONAL COACHES’ POLLS (WEEK 6): Men | Women

Let’s take a closer look at some of the meets this weekend, starting with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships that produced a field of five men’s and four women’s top-ranked programs from the most recent National Coaches’ Polls, the largest number of combined ranked teams at a conference meet this weekend.

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships

Date: November 3 \| Location: Arvada, Colorado (Colorado Christian)
2017 Champions: Colorado Mines (Men’s), Adams State (Women’s)

Men’s Teams		Women’s Teams
No. 1 Adams State		No. 1 Adams State
No. 2 Colorado Mines		No. 2 Western State
No. 5 Western State		No. 5 Colorado Mines
No. 12 CSU-Pueblo		No. 8 UC-Colorado Springs
No. 22 UC-Colorado Springs

QUICK HITS: The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is the headliner as it features five men’s and four women’s top-ranked programs. Both sides will include the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 teams in the country. The average national rank for the men’s ranked teams in attendance is 8.4 while the women side’s boasts an average of 4.

The Adams State men’s and women’s teams have sat atop the National Poll for the entire 2018 season. The men will look to end a two-year winning streak by Colorado Mines while the women have captured the crown in six-straight seasons.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships

Date: November 3 \| Location: Monmouth, Oregon (Wesetern Oregon)
2017 Champions: Western Oregon (Men’s), Alaska Anchorage (Women’s)

Men’s Teams		Women’s Teams
No. 8 Simon Fraser		No. 8 Simon Fraser
No. 11 Alaska Anchorage		No. 10 Alaska Anchorage
No. 21 Western Washington		No. 13 Seattle Pacific
No. 25 Western Oregon		No. 14 Western Washington

QUICK HITS: The Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships features a mix of some of the best programs in the nation. Both the men’s and women’s side will feature four top-ranked teams with No. 8 Simon Fraser the current favorite to take home the conference titles.

On the men’s side, Western Oregon ended a dominating run by Alaska Anchorage last season by winning the championship by a 51-64 margin. Before last year the Seawolves have dominated the conference and won team titles in seven consecutive seasons.

The women from Alaska Anchorage have had just as successful of a recent run and they are looking to capture the team crown for the fourth season in a row.

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships

Date: November 3 \| Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan (at Calvin College, hosted by Grand Valley State)
2017 Champions: Grand Valley State (Men’s), Grand Valley State (Women’s)

Men’s Teams		Women’s Teams
No. 3 Grand Valley State		No. 3 Grand Valley State
No. 10 Saginaw Valley State		No. 24 Michigan Tech
		No. 25 Saginaw Valley State

QUICK HITS: It has been Grand Valley State’s conference and everyone else has just been living in it.

The Lakers have captured 16 consecutive conference titles on the men’s side and 17 consecutive championships for the women’s program. While the other ranked teams will give them a run for their money, Grand Valley State will enter the weekend as the heavy favorite to sweep the championship meet again.

The last programs to win a title that weren’t the Lakers; the men from Wayne State in 2001 and the women from Northern Michigan in 2000.

Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championships

Date: November 3 \| Location: Canton, Ohio (Walsh)
2017 Champions: Walsh (Men’s), Hillsdale (Women’s)

Men’s Teams		Women’s Teams
No. 17 Cedarville		No. 15 Walsh
No. 18 Malone		No. 17 Hillsdale
No. 20 Walsh

QUICK HITS: The Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championships will feature five-ranked programs with three on the men’s side and two on the women’s. The favorites on the men’s side belongs with Cedarville while the Walsh women are slightly favored as well.

Unlike some other conference championships this is one of the closest fields in terms of rankings that we will see this weekend. Just four spots separate all of the men’s programs while Walsh and Hillsdale are just two away from one another for the women.

Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships

Date: November 3 \| Location: Aberdeen, South Dakota (Northern State)
2017 Champions: Augustana (S.D.) (Men’s), U-Mary (Women’s)

Men’s Teams		Women’s Teams
No. 6 Augustana (S.D.)		No. 4 U-Mary
No. 14 Sioux Falls		No. 6 Augustana (S.D.)

QUICK HITS: The favorites heading into the meet are familiar faces in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference as the men from Augustana (S.D.) have won 10 consecutive conference titles and the women from U-Mary are looking for their third-straight crown.

No. 14 Sioux Falls will look to play spoiler on the men’s side while Augustana (S.D.) is just a two-spot difference between favorite U-Mary in what should be an exciting race.

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Championships

Date: November 3 \| Location: Emporia, Kansas
2017 Champions: Lindenwood (Men’s),Pittsburg State (Women’s)

Men’s Teams		Women’s Teams
No. 16 Missouri Southern		No. 18 Southwest Baptist
		No. 19 Pittsburg State
		No. 22 Missouri Southern

QUICK HITS: While there is only one ranked team for the men, the women’s side of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Championships will be one to watch as it features three evenly matched squads.

The men from Missouri Southern are looking to collect their first crown since the 2016 season while the women’s side has seen a new champion almost every year in recent campaigns. Pittsburg State took home the title in 2017, Southwest Baptist won in 2015 and 2016 and Southwest Baptist earned a victory in 2015.