2019 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 5

NEW ORLEANS – Buckle up, folks: We’re in for a ride.

The most recent NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings, which were released on Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) shifted A LOT after a great weekend of racing across the nation.

Remember: We’ll find out which teams earn automatic bids and at-large bids to the 2019 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Friday, November 15.

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

Great Lakes Region

There were some slight changes to the order of the top-5 teams of the Great Lakes Region between Week 4 and Week 5. That’s because there was some great intra-regional racing.

Purdue, Indiana and Wisconsin finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational this past weekend and they sit in that exact same order at the top of the region. The Boilermakers are No. 1, followed by the Hoosiers and Badgers.

Michigan and Notre Dame were further behind this past weekend and sit No. 4 and No. 5.

Mid-Atlantic Region

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

Princeton and Georgetown are still the favorites to earn automatic bids to NCAAs, but Temple jumped from No. 5 to No. 3 thanks to its effort at the Penn State National Open. It was in State College, Pennsylvania, where the Owls captured the team title over now-No. 5 Penn.

Villanova, fresh off an eighth-place finish at the Pre-National Invitational, sits fourth.

Midwest Region

There were some notable changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region between Week 4 and Week 5.

For the first time in a long time, Iowa State and Oklahoma State aren’t No. 1 and No. 2 in some form or fashion. That’s because, while the Cyclones remained No. 1, Tulsa leapfrogged the Cowboys into the No. 2 spot after a spectacular effort at the Nuttycombe Invitational. The Hurricane finished third at the meet behind Northern Arizona and Stanford.

Oklahoma State is No. 3 for the first time in our recorded history (Our records go back to 2010 for the Regional Rankings). No. 4 Iowa and No. 5 Minnesota round out the top-5.

Mountain Region

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

Nothing changed at the top as Northern Arizona and BYU are still No. 1 and No. 2 after strong performances this past weekend. The Lumberjacks won the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational for the fourth consecutive year, while the Cougars captured the Pre-National Invitational crown.

Colorado remained at No. 3 and is followed by Southern Utah, up three spots from last week. The T-Birds finished 13th at the Nuttycombe Invitational, beating several regional foes. One of those teams Southern Utah beat is Utah State, which dropped to No. 5.

Northeast Region

There were some notable changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Northeast Region between Week 4 and Week 5.

Iona is No. 1 for the first time since the 2012 season after finishing third at the Pre-National Invitational this past weekend. The Gaels were one of only five teams in Terre Haute to put their entire scoring lineup in the top-60.

Syracuse dropped to No. 2, a spot it hasn’t occupied since Week 4 of 2013. The Orange had a rough day at the Nuttycombe Invitational, finishing 24th in the team standings.

The rest of the top-5 is rounded out by No. 3 Stony Brook, No. 4 Army West Point and No. 5 Dartmouth.

South Region

There were a few notable changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Region between Week 4 and Week 5.

Ole Miss, Middle Tennessee and Florida State are still No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, but Alabama and Belmont jumped to No. 4 and No. 5 after being No. 7 and No. 8 last week.

The Crimson Tide finished seventh at the Princeton Invitational this past weekend without the services of its top-2 runners, while the Bruins finished runner-up at the UAB Blazer Invitational to beat four other regional foes.

South Central Region

There was no change to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Central Region between Week 4 and Week 5.

Texas and Arkansas are still favored to earn automatic bids to the NCAAs come November, while Texas A&M, Lamar and Rice sit No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

Southeast Region

There were some notable changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Southeast Region between Week 4 and Week 5.

While Virginia and NC State remained No. 1 and No. 2 and are the favorites to earn automatic bids to NCAAs come November, Virginia Tech moved up from No. 4 to No. 3 and Furman is now No. 4 after spending a spell at No. 6. The Hokies finished seventh at the Pre-National Invitational this past weekend, while the Paladins were 19th at Nuttycombe.

Eastern Kentucky dropped two spots from No. 3 to No. 5.

West Region

There were some big, big changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region between Week 4 and Week 5.

Stanford is No. 1 for the first time since Week 6 of 2017 after finishing runner-up at the Nuttycombe Invitational. The Cardinal was the Best of the Rest as it finished 42 points clear of everybody else who was chasing Northern Arizona.

UCLA climbed two spots from No. 5 to No. 3, taking up residence right behind No. 2 Washington. The Bruins ran well at the Nuttycombe Invitational, where they finished fifth, four and five spots better than teams that were ranked ahead of them in the last Regional Rankings.

Portland and Oregon come in at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.