2019 NCAA DII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – It was a very quiet weekend for the ladies per the NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday afternoon.
It won’t remain quiet for long as we get deeper into the cross country season. The top ten remained put, but the appearance of one team shifted some teams back in the standings.
NCAA Division II — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Adams State
Adams State
2
Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State
3
Colo. School of Mines
Colo. School of Mines
4
Chico State
Chico State
5
Augustana (S.D.)
Augustana (S.D.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Adams State received all eight first place votes and is the unanimous No. 1 team for the fifth time this season. The Grizzlies extend their grasp on the top spot to 14 consecutive weeks.
The newly minted National Athlete of the Week, Eilish Flanagan, broke the course record at the Paul Short Run en route to the individual title with her winning time of 19:37.1. She led the Grizzlies to a second-place finish in the Gold section behind first-place Queen’s University in Ontario and ahead of many notable national caliber NCAA DI programs like Penn (ranked No. 23), Georgetown (No. 28), Tennessee (RV), and Princeton (RV).
Chasing the Grizzlies are No. 2 Grand Valley State, No. 3 Colorado School of Mines, No. 4 Chico State, and No. 5 Augustana (S.D.) for the second straight week. The Lakers have been ranked No. 2 in NCAA DII for the fifth time this year, while the Orediggers, Wildcats, and Vikings have been ranked in their respective positions for the second week in a row.
Other notable races by top-10 programs No. 6 Western Colorado placed sixth overall at the Chile Pepper Festival, and No. 10 Hillsdale placed 11th in the Gold Division at the Joe Piane Invitational. Both programs were the top NCAA DII teams in their respective meets.
The biggest jump in this week’s edition of the poll came from previously unranked Southwest Baptist to make its first top-25 appearance this season, jumping all the way up to No. 11 and causing teams to shift back. This is the program’s second-best rank all-time and the highest since 2015. The Bearcats turned in an eighth-place finish and the highest NCAA DII school in the Gold section at the Louisville Classic. Elysia Burgos and Tessa Valdivia placed eighth and 14th, respectively, to lead the Bearcats.
In one of the last weekends before Conference Championship weekend, one of the meets to look for is the Fifth Annual Lewis Crossover Cross Country Invitational that will feature many NCAA DII programs and some head-to-head competition between nationally-ranked programs. Competing teams include Grand Valley State, Augustana (S.D.), No. 12 Walsh, No. 13 Southern Indiana, No. 14 Cal State East Bay, No. 17 Missouri Southern, and No. 22 Wayne State (Mich.).
The forecast for Romeoville, Illinois is predicting nearly a quarter of an inch of rain on Friday and a high of 51 degrees for Saturday. The weather will make for some interesting racing conditions; however, the competitiveness of the meet could result in changes for national positioning heading into the postseason.
The next National Coaches’ Poll will be released on October 16.
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.
