2022 NCAA DII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – Change is in the air.
Here is the newest edition of the NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll for the 2022 season, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday. Remember that this poll is conducted by counting votes from eight member coaches – one from each of the division’s eight regions – who also do the Regional Rankings.
NCAA Division II — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Adams State2
Grand Valley State3
Colo. School of Mines4
Augustana (S.D.)5
UC-Colorado SpringsCross Country Polls & Rankings
No. 1 Adams State continued to reel in all eight first-place votes with No. 2 Grand Valley State right behind. New No. 3 Colorado School of Mines leapfrogged Augustana (S.D.) and UC-Colorado Springs in Week 2, as the Vikings and Mountain Lions slid to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Orediggers put together a dominating performance at the Roadrunner Invitational to win with 17 points behind a 1-2-3-5-6 finish. Jenna Ramsey, a transfer from Emporia State, took the individual crown in 21:31.5.
Cedarville jumped two spots from No. 8 to No. 6, matching its best ranking set in 2016. The Yellow Jackets topped the 33-team field at the All-Ohio Cross Country Championships behind Alayna Ackley’s individual crown. Cedarville placed all five of its scoring runners in the top-7.
Cal State Stanislaus is making its first top-10 appearance of the season at No. 8. The Warriors, who jumped four spots from No. 12, captured the team title at the Cougar Challenge over runner-up Chico State (up six spots to No. 11) and third-place Azusa Pacific (up four spots from No. 28). Kaela Dishion, Najwa Chouati and Kayden Legan went 1-2-3 as all of the Warriors’ scoring athletes finished in the top-12.
No. 7 Wingate (down one spot) and No. 9 Western Colorado (down two spots) slid down the leaderboard to make room for the improvements of Cedarville and Cal State Stanislaus. No. 10 Lee (Tenn.) held steady to round out the top-10.
This weekend will be electric with head-to-head competition among NCAA DII’s best. The Ted Castaneda Classic will feature Adams State, Colorado School of Mines and UC-Colorado Springs, while the Live in Lou will be headlined by Grand Valley State, UC-Colorado Springs, Cedarville and Lee (Tenn.). The Mountain Lions will split their squad between both meets.
While many teams have made improvements in Week 2 of the National Coaches’ Poll, only two teams have jumped double digit spots. Pittsburg State soared 16 spots from No. 30 to No. 14 following a second-place finish to NCAA DI Arkansas as the Missouri Southern Stampede. Winona State is up 10 spots to No. 17 after capturing runner-up honors to Minnesota Duluth (up four spots to No. 12) at the Roy Griak Invitational, led by Lindsay Cunningham’s second consecutive individual crown. The Gorillas are back in the top-15 for the first time since 2018, while the Warriors are making their first top-20 appearance since 2016.
Four teams are joining the top-30 for the first time this season: No. 21 Southwest Baptist, No. 25 Rogers State, No. 29 Michigan Tech and No. 30 Northwest Missouri. This is the first time in program history that Rogers State is ranked in the National Coaches’ Poll.
Mark your calendars for Friday, December 2, as the 2022 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will take place at Chambers Bay Golf Club in Tacoma, Washington!
