2021 NCAA DII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – A new month means a new look.
The latest NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll saw some big adjustments following a huge weekend of racing across the country. The Week 4 edition, released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association on Wednesday, had a total of 22 programs move up or down the rankings, including a tie for the No. 1 spot.
NCAA Division II — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Adams State
Adams State
1
Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State
3
Augustana (S.D.)
Augustana (S.D.)
4
Colo. School of Mines
Colo. School of Mines
5
Lee (Tenn.)
Lee (Tenn.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Grand Valley State isn’t the only team at the top this week. The Lakers, who received three first-place votes, will be joined by co-No. 1 Adams State after receiving five first-place votes. Both teams had impressive showings at their respective competitions this past weekend and were the top DII teams in their fields: the Lakers placed sixth in the Gold division at the Live in Lou Classic and topping several nationally ranked DII programs; the Grizzlies traveled to Pennsylvania for the Paul Short Run and notched a fifth place finish in the Gold section that featured several nationally ranked NCAA DI programs.
Augustana (S.D.) improved its billing to No. 3 and for good reason. The Vikings turned in a third place finish at the Chile Pepper Festival and beat former No. 2 (now No. 4) Colorado School of Mines.
Finding themselves at No. 6 for the first time since Week 8 in 2006 is UC-Colorado Springs. The Mountain Lions gained one spot after holding their own in the Gold division at Live in Lou, finishing ninth overall.
Two teams are enjoying program best rankings after a strong weekend of racing: CSU-Pueblo soared 10 spots from No. 17 to No. 7 after placing seventh at the Chile Pepper Festival, taking down former No. 6 (now No. 13) Southwest Baptist in the process; Queens (N.C.) jumped three spots from No. 11 to No. 8 following a 13th place finish in the Gold section at Live in Lou, finishing as the third-best NCAA DII team in the field.
Western Colorado vaulted a whopping 17 spots from No. 27 to No. 10 and is back in the top-10 for the first time since the preseason. The Mountaineers placed ninth at the Chile Pepper Festival, also finishing ahead of Southwest Baptist (the Bearcats finished 11th overall). Katie Doucette crossed the finish line in fifth and was the top DII finisher in the field.
A little further down, No. 12 Wingate jumped four spots from No. 16 and set another program best ranking. The Bulldogs rolled to a team title at the DII National Preview with 25 points and placed all five runners in the top-9, led by individual champion and National Athlete of the Week Finja Schierl.
Two teams are new to the National Coaches’ Poll in Week 4: Biola (Calif.) moved from the Land of Receiving Votes for three consecutive weeks to No. 27; Southern New Hampshire, who was previously not ranked, is coming in at No. 30 for their second appearance this year.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 20, as the 2021 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will take place at Abbey Golf Course in Tampa, Florida.
