2019 NCAA DII Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 1
NEW ORLEANS – The newest edition of NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Rankings were released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and teams have begun to climb the regional list.
There were two new No. 1 team on both sides to go with some changes in the top-5 throughout the majority of the regions. The season is about to pick up this weekend with the first countable date for at-large consideration for the 2019 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on November 23 in Sacramento, California.
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ATLANTIC REGION
There was not much shifting in the Atlantic Region.
No. 1 Charleston, No. 2 Edinboro, and No. 3 Concord stayed in their respective positions from the preseason rankings.
The biggest move in the region came from previously unranked Davis & Elkins, who now sits No. 4. The Senators won the Bethany Invitational and placed three in the top five.
No. 5 Shippensburg dropped one spot to round out the top five.
CENTRAL REGION
The Central Region had four teams remain the same in the top five.
No. 1 Missouri Southern maintained the top spot in the region.
No. 2 Augustana (S.D.) and No. 3 Sioux Falls swapped places from the preseason polls. The Vikings placed second in the Augustana Twilight, besting fourth-place Sioux Falls.
Northwest Missouri had the largest jump in the region. The Bearcats jumped up six spots to No. 4 after a dominating performance at the Bearcat Invite, led by All-American Karim Achengli. This is their first top-5 ranking since 2017.
Fort Hayes State rounded out the top five after scoring a perfect 15 at the Hastings Invite.
EAST REGION
No. 1 Southern CT State University moved to the top of the rankings with their second place effort at the DII/DIII Challenge and beating out regional foe Stonehill, who dropped one spot to No. 2.
No. 3 American International College was the only team in the region that maintained their preseason ranking.
No. 4 Roberts Wesleyen moved up one spot after a dominating win at the Hamilton College Short Course, while No. 5 Southern New Hampshire dropped one position.
MIDWEST REGION
As many other regions, the Midwest has seen small shifts among familiar teams.
No. 1 Grand Valley State continues to dominate the Midwest Region. The Lakers placed second at the MSU Spartan Invitational behind Tanner Chada’s third place finish.
Southern Indiana and Michigan Tech each moved up one spot to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. The Screaming Eagles won the Stegemoller Classic with a perfect score and had runners finish 1-8. The Huskies held their own at the Spartan Invitational, placing third behind GVSU by four points and head of Saginaw Valley.
The Cardinals dropped two places for No. 4, while No. 5 Walsh maintained its standing from the preseason poll.
SOUTH REGION
There were some changes in positioning in the South.
No. 1 Lee (Tenn.) remained the pacesetter for the region and opened up their season with a win at the UTC Twilight.
No. 2 Alabama-Huntsville jumped up two spots, while Embry-Riddle (Fla.) dropped one spot to No. 3.
Two teams are appearing in the top-5 for the first time this season. No. 4 Saint Leo jumped two spots up from the preseason.
Montevallo, who was previously not ranked, jumped to No. 5 from a pair of third place finishes at the Falcon Classic and UTC Twilight. This is the first time the Falcons have been in the top- for the South, and the first since 2016 when they were in the Southeast Region.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
The same five teams appear in the South Central.
The top two teams, No. 1 Colorado Mines and No. 2 Western Colorado, swapped places since the preseason poll. Mines stormed to a perfect score to win the UCCS Rust Buster.
The rest of the top-5 is rounded out by Adams State, UC-Colorado Springs, and West Texas A&M
SOUTHEAST REGION
There was only one change in the Southeast Region.
Queens (N.C.), Mount Olive, Augusta, and UNC Pembroke all maintained their spots. Both Mount Olive and UNC Pembroke are slated to have their season openers at the Bulldog Stampede this Saturday.
No. 5 Wingate moved up one position into the top five for the first time since 2017.
WEST REGION
There were few changes in the West Region from the preseason rankings.
No. 1 Chico State, No. 2 Simon Fraser, and No. 3 Alaska Anchorage maintained their respective positions.
No. 4 WesterN Washington jumped one spot up from fifth. The Vikings placed second to Simon Fraser at the CWU Apple Ridge Invite.
Rounding out the top five is Cal State San Marcos, who moved up two spots beating No. 12 and Southeast regional leader Queens (N.C.).
WOMEN
ATLANTIC
The Atlantic Region had the most movement out of the eight regions in the first week of regional rankings.
Coming outside of the top ten into the No. 1 spot is Davis and Elkins. The Senators were impressive in their season opener, wining the team title at the Bethany Invitational. Also impressive is that
Shippensburg remained at No. 2, while Seton Hill moved up one spot to No. 3 after winning the Doug Watts Invitational over host Edinboro.
No. 4 West Chester jumped up four spots from their eighth position in the preseason rankings on a third place effort at the DII/DIII Challenge. No. 5 Lock Haven drop two spots to round out the top teams.
CENTRAL
There was little jostling for positioning in the Central region.
No. 1 U-Mary and No. 2 Augustana (S.D.) remained in the top two positions.
U-Mary won the team title at the MSU-Moorhead led by Ida Narbuvoll, who was named the National Athlete of the Week on September 9 from her dominating performance. Augustana (S.D.) placed third overall at their home meet.
Missouri Southern jumped up two spots to No. 3 after winning the SBU XC Invite, and Oklahoma Baptist stayed in the fourth position. East Central (Okla.) improved five spots to become the fifth-ranked team in the region with a second-place performance at the UCO Land Run.
EAST
The top three teams in the East Region remained steady.
Roberts Wesleyan stayed atop of the region, with No. 2 Stonehill and No. 3 Assumption to follow suit. Stonehill placed second at the DII/DIII Challenge behind nationally-ranked Malone.
A win at the Adelphi Panthers XC Invitational allowed No. 4 Adelphi to climb up three spots, while No. 5 Saint Rose moved up one spot after claiming the team title at the Shacklette XC Invite.
MIDWEST
The Midwest Region featured some familiar faces and some movement within the top five.
The region continues to be heavily dominated by No. 1 Grand Valley State. The Lakers placed second at the MSU Spartan Invitational behind Division I Michigan State. The meet also featured regionally ranked Northern Michigan, Saginaw Valley, and Michigan Tech.
Hillsdale remained at No. 2. The Chargers won the Tiffelberg Invitational and the Calvin Knight Invite to open up their season without running their full roster.
No. 3 Southern Indiana climbed up two spots from the preseason rankings. The Screaming Eagles won the Stegemoller Classic over regionally-ranked Indianapolis.
The No. 4 spot continues to stay with Walsh, while No. 5 Wayne State (Mich.) moved up one spot into the top five after winning the Titan Fit Invitational and topping NAIA #1 Madonna.
SOUTH
The top five teams in the South Region are all the same but in different positions.
No. 1 Lee stayed at the top of the region with their team title at the UTC Twilight.
No. 2 Tampa improved three spots with their second-place finish to Division I Florida at the Mountain Dew Invitational.
Union remained at No. 3 and are expected to open their season this Saturday at the Rhodes Invitational. Embry-Riddle (Fla.) dropped two spots to No. 4, and Florida Southern dropped one spot to No. 5 to round out the top five teams.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
The only change in the South Central Region was a new No. 5.
No. 1 Adams State, No. 2 Western Colorado, No. 3 Colorado School of Mines, and No. 4 UC-Colorado Springs all remained in their respective positions from the preseason polls.
The only change in the region came from No. 5 Dallas Baptist, as they jumped up two spots from being ranked seventh with a win at the East Texas Cross Country Shootout.
SOUTHEAST REGION
The Southeast had very little movement from the preseason to the first week of rankings.
Queens (N.C.) still own the No. 1 spot, while No. 2 Anderson climbed up one position after defeating Flager at the Mountain Dew Invitational.
Flager fell one spot to No. 3, and Mount Olive, who will run their season opener this weekend at the Bulldog Stampede, remained at No. 4.
No. 5 North Georgia remained steady to round out the region.
WEST REGION
As with other regions this week, the West was no exception with the top five shuffling for positioning.
No. 1 Chico State and No. 2 Alaska Anchorage remained steady from their preseason rankings.
Moving up one spot to the No. 3 and No. 4 positions are Seattle Pacific and Western Washington, respectively.
The Falcons are expected to open their season this Saturday at the PLU Invitational. The WWU women placed second at the CWU Invitational, topping regional foe Simon Fraser.
No. 5 Simon Fraser dropped one spot to round out the region’s top five.
