2019 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1
NEW ORLEANS – Three weeks of racing didn’t change the top teams of the NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll too much.
The second seasonal index, released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), saw the 21 of the top-30 teams shift spots, but none of those in the top-6.
NCAA Division I — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona
2
BYU
BYU
3
Washington
Washington
4
Colorado
Colorado
5
Iowa State
Iowa State
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Who else is at the top but Northern Arizona?
The Lumberjacks, who are No. 1 for the 23rd week in a row and own 10 of 11 possible first-place votes from the coaches, opened up the season a few weeks ago against some tough competition at the George Kyte Invitational. NAU squared off against Tokai University, the top collegiate team in Japan and the defending champions of the Hakone Ekiden. The Lumberjacks, led by an individual victory by Ryan Raff – who set a course record of 21:52.0 – edged their Japanese counterparts by a score of 25-30.
BYU continues to hold down the No. 2 spot behind NAU. The Cougars recently opened their season at the BYU Autumn Classic and swept the top-6 spots with sophomore Conner Mantz leading the way with a 14-second victory.
Washington sits third for the second week in a row and will open the season this weekend at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown against the likes of No. 21 Arkansas and No. 13 Syracuse, among others.
Colorado owns the fourth spot and competed once so far this season at the Wyoming Invitational. The Buffaloes finished a close second to the host Cowboys and were led by three seniors: Alec Hornecker (3rd), Joe Klecker (5th) and John Dressel (8th).
Iowa State is No. 5 once again and opens the season this weekend at the John McNichols Invitational, which will serve as the team’s preview of the course at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. The Cyclones aren’t scheduled to compete at Pre-Nationals.
We’ll jump a few spots to No. 7, which is where Stanford takes up residence. The Cardinal is the only other team with a first-place vote in the poll. Stanford has yet to compete this season and will get things going this weekend at the aforementioned John McNichols Invitational.
Oklahoma State, Wisconsin and Notre Dame all shifted down one stop to accommodate Stanford’s climb. This is the Badgers’ ninth consecutive week in the national top-10.
Other ranked teams that jumped multiple spots between the Preseason and Week 1 include No. 20 Virginia (up three spots from No. 23) and No. 25 Villanova (up three spots from No. 28). The Cavaliers recently won the Cavalier Classic and announced the hiring of 11-time NCAA championship winning coach Vin Lananna as their Director of Track & Field and Cross Country.
Middle Tennessee went from the Land of Receiving Votes to No. 26. The Blue Raiders won the Commodore Classic this past weekend and were led by Kigen Chemadi, who was named National Athlete of the Week for his individual title in Nashville, Tennessee. This is the fourth year in a row that Middle Tennessee has appeared in the National Coaches’ Poll.
The next NCAA Division I Men’s National Coaches’ Poll will be released on September 24.
