2019 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 4

NEW ORLEANS – We’re beginning to see some real racing in NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country.

That means changes to the most recent Regional Rankings released on Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA).

SEE MORE: NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings

There was some great intra-regional racing that altered the complexion of several regions, namely the Great Lakes Region.

Remember: The nine NCAA DI Regional Championships will be held across the nation on Friday, November 15, with the top-2 teams in each region earning automatic bids to the ensuing NCAA Championships.

Great Lakes Region

Massive changes swept through the top-5 of the Great Lakes Region between Week 3 and Week 4. That’s because all of the region’s top teams raced against each other at the Joe Piane Invitational this past weekend.

The victor of the competition inside the competition go the spoils, which in this case was Purdue and which is why the Boilermakers are No. 1 for the first time in program history. Purdue finished just one point from third in South Bend, Indiana, and put three runners in the top-20.

The rest of the teams fall in order with how they finished at the Burke Golf Course: Notre Dame is No. 2, Indiana is No. 3, Michigan is No. 4 and former No. 1 Wisconsin is No. 5.

Mid-Atlantic Region

There were some slight changes to the order of top-5 teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region between Week 3 and Week 4.

Princeton is still No. 1, but it’s Georgetown following the Tigers now, not Villanova. The Hoyas fared well at the stacked Joe Piane Invitational, finishing 11th behind Eastern Kentucky and Florida State.

Right behind Georgetown is Penn, which moved up from No. 6 to No. 3. The Quakers took runner-up honors in the Men’s Gold Race at the Paul Short Invitational.

Villanova dropped from No. 2 to No. 4, while Temple dropped from No. 4 to No. 5.

Midwest Region

There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region between Week 3 and Week 4.

Iowa State and Oklahoma State remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, with Tulsa at No. 3 right behind them, but Iowa jumped from No. 5 to No. 4 and Minnesota climbed from No. 8 to No. 5 after their strong performances this past weekend.

The Hawkeyes finished 12th at the loaded Joe Piane Invitational, while the Golden Gophers finished fifth in the Men’s Gold Race at the Paul Short Run.

Mountain Region

There was a slight change to the order of top-5 teams in the Mountain Region between Week 3 and Week 4, but rest assured nothing happened at the top.

Northern Arizona, BYU and Colorado remain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, but Utah State shot from No. 8 last week to No. 4 this week thanks to its effort at the Paul Short Run. The Aggies romped to victory in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, scoring nearly 100 points fewer than the runner-up.

Wyoming remained at No. 5 to round out the top-5.

Northeast Region

There was a slight change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Northeast Region between Week 3 and Week 4.

Syracuse and Iona are still favored to earn the region’s automatic bids to NCAAs, while Stony Brook leapfrogged Army West Point into the No. 3 spot (Army is now No. 4). Harvard remains No. 5 for the third week in a row.

South Region

There were some slight changes to the order of top-5 teams in the South Region between Week 3 and Week 4.

Ole Miss, Middle Tennessee and Florida State still remain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, after their performances this past weekend. The Rebels finished runner-up to Colorado at the Joe Piane Invitational, while the Blue Raiders won the Men’s Gold 8K at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic and the Seminoles hung tough in South Bend, Indiana, on their way to beating several nationally-ranked programs.

Georgia Tech went from No. 6 to No. 4 and Lipscomb soared from No. 12 to a program record-tying No. 5 after finishing a strong fourth at the Live in the Lou Cross Country Classic.

South Central Region

There was a big change to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Central Region between Week 3 and Week 4.

For just the third time in the past seven years, Arkansas isn’t the No. 1 team. That position now belongs to Texas after it beat the Razorbacks – and every other team, for that matter – at the Chile Pepper Festival this past weekend. The Longhorns put three runners in the top-15 and scored 74 points to Arkansas’ 165. It should be mentioned that the Razorbacks’ top runner Gilbert Boit ran unattached and placed second.

Settling into position behind Texas and Arkansas is Texas A&M, Lamar and Rice at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

Southeast Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Southeast Region between Week 3 and Week 4.

Virginia and NC State are still favored to earn the region’s automatic bids to NCAAs, while Eastern Kentucky, Virginia Tech and Duke sit No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

West Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region between Week 3 and Week 4.

Washington and Portland are still favored to earn the region’s automatic bids to NCAAs, while Stanford, Oregon and UCLA aren’t too far behind at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.