2022 NCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 3
NEW ORLEANS – It’s time to flip the calendar to October.
Here is the newest edition of the NCAA Division II Men’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 Wednesday afternoon. 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 — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Colo. School of Mines2
Adams State3
Grand Valley State4
Wingate5
Lee (Tenn.)Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Colorado School of Mines, who was previously co-No. 1 with Adams State, claimed sole possession of the top spot in the National Coaches’ Poll after receiving seven first-place votes. The Grizzlies, who fell back to No. 2 this week, received one first-place vote. Both teams were at the Ted Castaneda Classic this weekend and finished with 33 points each. The Grizzlies ultimately got the win in a tiebreaker.
Grand Valley State continued to hold steady at No. 3 for the fourth-straight week. It was business as usual for the Lakers, this time capturing the team title in the Men’s 8k CC Gold section at the Live in Lou Classic. Tanner Chada won the individual crown in 23:18.1 and was one of three scoring athletes to finish in the top-16.
Wingate and Lee (Tenn.) both climbed three spots each to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Bulldogs, who set a program-best ranking in the National Coaches’ Poll, was the top NCAA DII program in the Gold section of the Paul Short Run with a 12th-place finish and posting a team average of 23:53. The Flames placed second to Grand Valley State at the Live in Lou Classic as their scoring runners went 20-21-23-31-38.
No. 6 Chico State, No. 7 Augustana (S.D) and No. 8 Missouri Southern all fell two spots a piece to make room for the improvements of Wingate and Lee (Tenn.). Colorado Christian remained at No. 9 and is now followed by Charleston (W.Va.), who climbed three spots from No. 13 to No. 10. The Golden Eagles, who also competed at the Paul Short Run, beat former No. 11 Walsh (now No. 13) in the Gold race by 65 points.
Further down the leaderboard, only two teams climbed multiple spots: Mississippi College went from No. 19 to No. 16; West Texas A&M jumped from No. 26 to No. 24. The Choctaws finished sixth at the Chile Pepper Festival and beat two NCAA DII nationally-ranked teams in the process, while the Buffs raced a full squad for the first time this season at the Louisville Classic and walked away with solid wins over several DII programs.
Northwood is making its debut in the National Coaches’ Poll at No. 28. The Timberwolves earned their first ranking in program history thanks to a strong team effort in the Gold section at the Live in Lou Classic behind Dillan Haviland’s 24th-place finish.
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!
