2019 NCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1
NEW ORLEANS – There is a new number one that sits atop of the week one polls, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday afternoon.
With the first countable at-large considering date being September 19, things are about to be shaking up more than what the first two set of polls state.
NCAA Division II — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Colo. School of Mines
Colo. School of Mines
2
Western Colorado
Western Colorado
3
Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State
4
Chico State
Chico State
5
Adams State
Adams State
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
The top spot now belongs to Colorado School of Mines, the 2018 national runner-up, who received all eight first place votes. Mines opened up the season with a dominating performance at the UCCS Rust Buster Invite with a perfect 15. Chris Cathcart won the 8K race and set a course record in the process.
The Orediggers are No. 1 for the first time since the 2017 season.
No. 2 Western Colorado held its position. The Mountaineers competed in a pair of meets – the Wyoming Invite and the Mountaineer/Cowboy Invite – with Charlie Sweeny pacing the team at both.
Grand Valley State, the defending national champions, dropped two spots to third. The Lakers opened the season at the Calvin Knight Invite and the MSU Spartan Invitational, finishing second to Michigan State.
No. 4 Chico State, No. 5 Adams State, and No. 6 Missouri Southern all remained the same.
Following the Lions in the No. 6 and No. 7 spots are Augustana (S.D.) and Southern Indiana, who moved up two and three spots, respectively. The Vikings placed second to DI Nebraska at the Augustana Twilight, while the Screaming Eagles rolled to a team title at the Stegemoller Classic.
The biggest shakeup in the rankings came from Michigan Tech, who achieved their highest ranking after jumping up 11 spots from No. 20 to No. 9. Jake Issacson’s squad finished third at the aforementioned Spartan Invitational, just four points behind Grand Valley State.
This is the first top-10 appearance for the Huskies in program history.
No. 10 UC-Colorado Springs stayed exactly where they were in the preseason to round out the top-10.
Other teams moving up in the rankings are Simon Fraser (No. 13 to No. 11), West Texas A&M (No. 14 to No. 13), and Alaska Anchorage (No. 17 to No. 14).
No. 17 Western Washington made the second biggest jump in the polls. They moved up seven spots from No. 24. The Vikings earned a second place finish to No. 11 Simon Fraser at the CWU Apple Ridge Invite.
Southern Connecticut moved into the poll and is slotted at No. 24 after receiving votes in the preseason. They are back in the top-25 since week 7 of last year.
Cal State San Marcos (No. 18), Northwest Missouri (No. 19), Biola (Calif.), and Colorado Christian (No. 25) are the newest additions to the polls.
Cal State San Marcos topped No. 21 Queens at the Cougar Challenge in California, having runners finish 3-4-5 to lead the Cougars to the team title. This is their highest national ranking in school history.
Northwest Missouri is ranked for the first time since the 2017 season.
Both Biola (Calif.) and Colorado Christian are in the top-25 for the first time in school history.
This year is a big year for the Eagles, the 2019-2020 year marks the competition of the Division II membership process, making them eligible to compete in NCAA Division II playoffs.
The next NCAA Division II Men’s National Coaches’ Poll will be released on September 25.
