2021 NCAA DII Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 5

NEW ORLEANS – Another busy weekend led to several shakeups.

Here is the Week 5 edition of the NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday afternoon.

Atlantic Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Atlantic Region.

Charleston (W.VA.) and Edinboro remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Concord, No. 4 Shippensburg and No. 5 Slippery Rock. Four of the five teams competed this past weekend: the Golden Eagles won the team title at the Royals XC Challenge with the Fighting Scots coming in seventh; the Mountain Lions won the Concord Alumni Invitational; the Rock placed second at the Bill Lennox Invitational.

Central Region

There were minor changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Central Region.

Augustana (S.D.), Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern remain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Neb.-Kearney leapfrogged Northwest Missouri for the No. 4 spot (the Bearcats are now No. 5). The Gorillas and Lions placed first and fifth, respectively, at the UAH Invitational, while the Lopers and Bearcats went 2-3 in the Gold section at Fort Hayes.

East Region

There were several changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the East Region.

American International and Southern Connecticut remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. No. 3 Stonehill and No. 4 Roberts Wesleyan each gained one spot from their Week 4 billings, which dropped No. 5 Franklin Pierce down two spots. The Yellow Jackets solidified their ranking after racing a full squad for the first time this season, narrowly falling to NCAA Division I Dartmouth, 60-78, at the New England Championships.

Midwest Region

There were minor changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region.

Grand Valley State, Southern Indiana and Lewis remain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Wayne State improved one spot to No. 4, which dropped Walsh to No. 5. The Warriors beat the Cavaliers by three points at the Lewis Conference Crossover for fourth and fifth, respectively, while the Flyers placed second in the field. 

South Region

There were a plethora of changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Region.

Lee (Tenn.) is now No. 1 after beating former No. 1 (now No. 2) Alabama-Huntsville at the UAH Invitational to finish second and third, respectively. No. 3 Mississippi College held steady, and now followed by No. 4 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and No. 5 Florida Southern, who traded places from Week 4. The Eagles placed sixth at the UAH Invitational behind several nationally-ranked teams.

South Central Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Central Region.

Colorado School of Mines and Adams State remained at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Colorado Christian, No. 4 UC-Colorado Springs and No. 5 Western Colorado. While four of the teams either ran their reserve runners or were idle, the Cougars solidified their placement after winning the Lewis Conference Crossover.

Southeast Region

There were two changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Southeast Region.

Wingate moved into the No. 1 spot and bumped Queens (N.C.) to No. 2. While neither team raced to full strength at the Royals XC Challenge, the regional ranker noted that the Bulldogs may have more depth with how they raced in the fast section. No. 3 Augusta, No. 4 Anderson (S.C.) and No. 5 Catawba remain steady. The Trojans and Indians competed at the Lewis Crossover and Royals Challenge, respectively.

West Region

There were some major changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region.

Chico State held steady at No. 1 and now followed by No. 2 Western Washington, who jumped six spots since Week 4. That dropped Simon Fraser, Fresno Pacific and Biola (Calif.) down to No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Wildcats topped the field at the WWU Bill Roe Classic, while the Viking beat SFU by 2 points for second place. Fresno Pacific was idle this past weekend and Biola (Calif.) raced to an eighth place finish at the Lewis Conference Crossover.