2019 NCAA DII Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – The latest edition of the NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Rankings, which were released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), saw some slight changes between Week 1 and Week 2.
While the majority of the regions remained calm and all of the top teams held their positions, other regions saw various levels of shifting from teams making their climb.
Remember: Regional championships will be held across the nation on Saturday, November 9. The top-3 teams in each region earn automatic bids to the NCAA meet two weeks later.
MEN
ATLANTIC REGION
There was not much shifting in the Atlantic Region.
No. 1 Charleston and No. 2 Edinboro stayed as the top two teams.
Lock Haven jumped up three spots to No. 3 following a dominating win at their home invitational.
Concord and Davis & Elkins dropped one spot each to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively with Lock Haven’s jump.
CENTRAL REGION
There was no change in the Central region.
No. 1 Missouri Southern maintained the top spot in the region after winning the Southern Stampede, led by Gidieon Kimutai, the newly minted National Athlete of the Week.
No. 2 Augustana (S.D.). No. 3 Sioux Falls, No. 4 Northwest Missouri, and No. 5 Fort Hayes State held their rankings to make up the remainder of the top-5.
EAST REGION
The East had a little bit of a shakeup within the middle.
While Southern CT State University held on to it’s No. 1 ranking, No 2-4 all traded spots. Roberts Wesleyen moved up two spots to slot in behind Southern CT for their best ranking since 2015.. The Redhawks won the Harry Anderson Invite placing five runners in the top-8.
No. 3 Stonehill, No. 4 American International College, and No. 5 Southern New Hampshire round out the top teams in the East.
MIDWEST REGION
The Midwest saw little change since last week’s rankings.
No. 1 Grand Valley State, No. 2 Southern Indiana, and No. 3 Michigan Tech all held their respective spots, as none of those programs raced.
Walsh (No. 3) and Saginaw Valley (No. 5) traded places from a week ago to round out the standings. The Cavaliers placed second in the team standings at the National Catholic Invitational.
SOUTH REGION
The South Region also saw no changes.
Lee (Tenn.) stayed at No. 1, and No. 2 Alabama-Huntsville placed third at the Southern Stampede to finish behind nationally-ranked Missouri Southern and Northwest Missouri.
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) kept still at No. 3 with a dominating effort at their home meet.
Teams rounding our the region are Saint Leo (No. 4) and Montevallo (No. 5).
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
There were no changes in the South Central.
Colorado School of Mines (No. 1), Western Colorado (No. 2), Adams State (No. 3), and UC-Colorado Springs (No. 4) stayed where they were a week ago after a weekend of no competition.
The top-5 is rounded out by West Texas A&M, as they were the only top team to compete this past weekend at the Texas Tech Open.
SOUTHEAST REGION
As with many of the previous regions, there was no change in the Southeast.
Queens (N.C.) is still projected to be the top team in the region.
Mount Olive, Augusta, UNC Pembroke, and Wingate all maintained their previous rankings as the No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 teams, respectively. All four programs competed at the Bulldog Stampede, with Mount Olive claiming the team title over host Wingate.
WEST REGION
The region with the most change was the West.
The No. 1 team remained to be Chico State.
Alaska Anchorage moved into the No. 2 spot, while Cal State San Marcos moved up two spots to sit in third for its highest ranking in school history.
No. 4 Biola (Calif) is making its first top-5 appearance in program history since becoming a full-time NCAA Division II member this year. The Eagles claimed the team title and individual crown at The Sundowner Invitational. No. 5 UC San Diego moved up two spots to make their first top-5 appearance this season.
WOMEN
ATLANTIC
The Atlantic Region has little movement within the region.
No. 1 Davis and Elkins held it’s spot for its second consecutive week after a second place finish at the LHU Invitational to NCAA DI West Virginia.
Edinboro jumps to No. 2 for a four spot improvement. No. 3 Seton Hill, No. 4 West Chester, and No. 5 Lock Haven remained idle to round out the top teams.
CENTRAL
There was hardly any change in the Central Region.
No. 1 U-Mary, No. 2 Augustana (S.D.), No. 3 Missouri Southern, and No. 4 Oklahoma Baptist all remained in their respective positions.
The only change in the region came in the fifth spot, where Pittsburg State jumped three spots following their fifth place finish at the Southern Stampede.
EAST
There was little change in the East.
No. 1 Roberts Wesleyan and No. 2 Stonehill maintained their standings.
Southern New Hampshire moved into the third after being ranked fifth a week ago. No. 4 St. Anselm moved back into the top-5 after defeating No. 5 Assumption at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational, who dropped from third to fifth.
MIDWEST
The Midwest saw no change from a week ago.
No. 1 Grand Valley State continued to maintain its strong hold on the top spot in the Midwest
Hillsdale (No. 2), Southern Indiana (No. 3), Walsh (No. 4), and Wayne State (No. 5) round out the top-5 teams. The Cavaliers placed 4th at the National Catholic Invitational, while Wayne State won their home invitational.
SOUTH
There were only two changes in the South.
No. 1 Lee stayed at the top of the region with Tampa coming in ranked second.
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) moved up to third following a win on their home course at the Asics Classic. Union (Tenn.) dropped to one spot to fourth with the move by Embry-Riddle.
No. 5 Florida Southern remained idle to round out the top teams.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
There was no movement in the South Central.
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 for the third consecutive week.
No. 5 Dallas Baptist rounds out the top-5.
SOUTHEAST REGION
The Southeast saw little changes from last week’s rankings.
Queens (N.C.) and Anderson maintained their hold on the first and second spots.
Wingate made the biggest jump from No. 10 to No. 3 for their highest ranking since 2016. The Bulldogs walked away with a team title on their home course.
Flagger fell one spot to No. 3 and North Georgia remained at No. 5 to round out the top-5.
WEST REGION
There was only one change in the West.
No. 1 Chico State and No. 2 Alaska Anchorage kept their hold on the top two spots for the third consecutive week. No. 3 Seattle Pacific stayed put following a win at the PLU Invitational, with No. 4 Western Washington maintaining its spot behind the Falcons.Cal State San Marcos was the only change and bumped up one spot into the top-5 for the first time this season after two consecutive weeks at No. 6.
