2019 NCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 7
NEW ORLEANS – A thrilling weekend of regional competition shook up the pre-championship edition of the NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll that was released Wednesday afternoon by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
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
Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State
3
Western Colorado
Western Colorado
5
Adams State
Adams State
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
The top-3 remain unscathed as No. 1 Colorado School of Mines, No. 2 Chico State, and No. 3 Grand Valley State each won their respective regional championships. The Orediggers received all eight first place votes to remain the unanimous No. 1 for the seventh consecutive week.
Now-No. 3 Western Colorado and now-No. 5 Adams State traded places from the previous week’s poll. The Mountaineers earned a two-spot bump after edging out the Grizzlies for second place at the South Central Region Championships by a one point margin.
Cracking the top-10 for the first time in program history is No. 7 Northwest Missouri. The Bearcats have continued to climb the national leaderboard for the last four weeks in what was then program-bests. The Bearcats turned in an impressive runner-up finish at the Central Regional Championships with 64 points behind No. 6 Missouri Southern (52 points) and ahead of third place Augustana (S.D.) (76 points). The Vikings entered the weekend at No. 7 and dropped one spot back to No. 8.
Coach Nick Gibson’s squad has evolved into an entirely different team from a year ago, improving a stupendous 15(!) places from their 17th-place finish at last year’s regional championships. The Bearcats punched their ticket back to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2016.
West Texas A&M moved up two spots to No. 11. The Buffs, boasting individual champion Ezekiel Kipchirchir, placed fourth in a stacked South Central Region and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships for the seventh consecutive year. Fellow regional opponent UC-Colorado Springs moved up one position to No. 16 after placing fifth in the team standings ahead of No. 23 Colorado Christian, who finished sixth. The Mountain Lions will be making their second straight national appearance and program’s seventh overall, while the Cougars earned the program’s first NCAA Championships appearance.
A lot of changes occurred in the middle of the pack with five new teams from Nos. 14-19.
After defending its South East Regional Championship, Queens (N.C.) moved up four spots to No. 14 to earn an automatic bid to NCAAs for the fifth consecutive year. The Royals narrowly edged out second place Augusta 43-47. The Jaguars climbed eight spots in the poll to No. 16 for the program’s highest national ranking to date and will race in their third straight, and fourth overall, NCAA Championships.
Cal State San Marcos earned a one spot bump to No. 15 after their third place finish in the West Region, as the Cougars earned the final automatic bid to become the first team in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Walsh improved three spots to No. 19 following a fourth place finish in the Midwest Region ahead of Saginaw Valley State, who was previously ranked No. 14 entering regional weekend. The Cavaliers claimed the only at-large bid from the Midwest in qualifying for their third straight NCAA Championships.
Two new teams entered the National Coaches’ Poll following their regional performances. Previously receiving votes, No. 12 Cal Poly Pomona earned the nod back to the poll following their second place finish in the West Region to make the NCAA Championships for the 21st time. This was the highest finish for the Broncos since finishing second from 2004-2006.
Cal State Stanislaus moved from not ranked to No. 21 for its highest rank in program history. The Warriors claimed a program-best fourth-place finish in the West Regional Championships and earned an at-large bid to qualify for the program’s first appearance at the NCAA Championships.
The 2019 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday, November 23, in Sacramento, California.
