2019 NCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 3
NEW ORLEANS – The NCAA Division II Men’s National Coaches’ Poll is starting to things shake up as we move into October, as released by the U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday afternoon.
While the top-5 are familiar faces, other teams are starting to make their jump up the national leaderboard.
NCAA Division II — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Colo. School of Mines
Colo. School of Mines
2
Chico State
Chico State
3
Western Colorado
Western Colorado
4
Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State
5
Adams State
Adams State
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Colorado School of Mines remained the unanimous No. 1 team for the third consecutive week after receiving all eight first place votes. The Orediggers haven’t competed since their dominating season opener at the UCCS Rust Buster, and are expected to return to the course this weekend at Arkansas’s Chile Pepper Festival.
Chico State moved up one spot to come in at No. 2 this week for the first time since 2015.. The Wildcats were the top DII school at the Capital Cross Challenge, finishing second overall to DI Cal Poly.
No. 3 Western Colorado fell one place due to Chico’s rise, and will return to competition at Chile Pepper since competing September 14 at the Mountaineer/Cowboy Invite.
No. 4 Grand Valley State and No. 5 Adams State remained steady for the second and fourth week, respectively. The Lakers were led to a second place team finish in a D1 field by individual winner Tanner Chada, the newly minted National Athlete of the Week, at the Ohio State Buckeye Preview. The Grizzlies previously placed second at the Colorado College Invitational on September 14, and will travel across the country to DI Lehigh University in Pennsylvania for the Paul Short Run.
The biggest move in this week’s polls came from Charleston (W.V.), shooting up 11 spots from No. 20 to No. 9 for their highest placement in program history. The Golden Eagles are following a strong performance at the Trevecca Nazarene DII Showcase, placing second by one point to No. 8 Southern Indiana.
Also setting a new program benchmark is No. 11 Lee (Tenn.). The Flames jumped up five spots from a week ago after a solid third place outing at the DII Showcase to finish ahead of now No. 12 UC-Colorado Springs by three points.
Moving up into the top-25 from the land of receiving votes for their highest ranking since 2016 is No. 14 UC San Diego. The Tritons placed third at the Capital Cross Challenge behind Chico State and ahead of No. 16 Queens (N.C.), who moved up three spots this week. Alabama-Huntsville dominated the UAH Chargers XC Open and gained two spots to come in at No. 20 for their highest showing in program history.
No. 21 Cal Poly Ponoma is rejoining the top-25 since the preseason, and No. 24 Cal State Stanislaus is nationally ranked for the first time in school history.
The next National Coaches’ Poll will be released on October 9.Be sure to check back throughout the season until November 23, when the 2019 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will be held at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, California.
