USTFCCCA News & Notes
By USTFCCCA Communications, USTFCCCA November 11, 2022   

NCAA DI Cross Country Regional Championships Friday Preview

Regional Championships Friday is here!

You can feel the excitement in the air.

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | USTFCCCA Scoreboard

Let’s find out which teams and individuals are headed to the 2022 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships NEXT SATURDAY at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Don’t forget that you can watch the commercial-free action on ESPNU, beginning at 10 am ET.

Remember that the top-2 teams per gender in each region automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, while the other teams will be at-large selections during an upcoming NCAA Selection Show. Then, after teams have been determined, 40 additional individuals per gender are selected to compete based on finish at their respective regional championships.

Here are three of the nine meets that offer the most intrigue.

Mountain Region – Ranked Teams
Men’s Poll
Women’s Poll
No. 2 BYU
No. 2 New Mexico
No. 3 Northern Arizona
No. 4 Northern Arizona
No. 5 Air Force
No. 6 BYU
No. 9 Colorado
No. 8 Colorado
No. 21 Montana State
No. 9 Utah
No. 28 Colorado State
No. 20 Colorado State
 
No. 27 Utah Valley

The Mountain Region Championships never disappoint.

This year is no different with 13 nationally ranked programs from the most recent NCAA DI National Coaches’ Polls between the two races, of which nine reside in their respective poll’s top-10: No. 2 BYU, No. 3 Northern Arizona, No. 5 Air Force, No. 9 Colorado for the men; No. 2 New Mexico, No. 4 Northern Arizona, No. 6 BYU, No. 8 Colorado and No. 9 Utah for the women.

You’ll see the Women’s 6k Championship on the course first in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 11 am MT with those five top-10 programs, as well as two others in the top-30 – No. 20 Colorado State and No. 27 Utah Valley. You might think New Mexico is a shoo-in to win its third regional crown in the past four years, based off recent history. After all, the top-ranked team in the field won each of the past four meets. Go back to 2010 and the top-ranked squad was 2-5 from 2010 until 2016 with Weber State (2013) and Colorado (2015) as the only leaders to top the podium. Fast forward to present day and four of those top-10 programs met up at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course for the aptly named Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. The Lady Lobos stood tall that day, as they lost to No. 1 NC State in a tiebreaker with NAU and BYU in third and fourth, respectively.

The largest collection of top-10 programs in the Men’s National Coaches’ Poll descends on the North Golf Course on Friday. That’s four, if you’re counting at home: No. 2 BYU, No. 3 Northern Arizona, No. 5 Air Force, No. 9 Colorado. This quartet hasn’t been shy about racing each other this year, as BYU got the upper hand against all three of them at both the Cowboy Jamboree in mid-September and the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational last month. Whichever men’s team wins the regional title in the race that begins at noon MT, chances are it will fare well at the ensuing NCAA DI Cross Country Championships. From 2014 until 2018, the regional champion would eventually be crowned national champion four times: Colorado in 2014 and NAU from 2016 to 2018. That trend didn’t continue in 2019 or 2021, but the regional runner-up reigned on the national stage (BYU and NAU).

West Region – Ranked Teams
Men’s Poll
Women’s Poll
No. 1 Stanford
No. 10 Oregon
No. 14 Washington
No. 11 Stanford
No. 18 Oregon
No. 14 California Baptist
No. 24 Portland
No. 16 Washington
No. 25 California Baptist
 
No. 26 Gonzaga
 

We know two teams from each gender earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say Stanford’s men will be one of those teams. The top-ranked Cardinal is in impeccable form right now, having romped to the team title at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational in mid-October and then dropping one of the lowest point totals by a winning team at the Pac-12 Championships. No. 14 Washington, No. 18 Oregon, No. 24 Portland, No. 25 California Baptist and No. 26 Gonzaga will all battle for the other bid. The Huskies are the favorite, based on ranking, but the Ducks have flown under the radar this season and are truly taking off at the right time. Never count out the Pilots, either: Portland won this meet three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019 and always seems to peak at the right time under head coach Rob Conner.

The race for the women’s team title is going to be a war of attrition. At least that’s what we can surmise from the most recent National Coaches’ Poll that has the region’s four ranked teams all within six spots of each other: No. 10 Oregon, No. 11 Stanford (two-time defending regional champions), No. 14 California Baptist and No. 16 Washington. Three of those teams battled at the Pac-12 Championships two weeks ago and finished behind meet champion Colorado and runner-up Utah in the order that you see listed. The Lancers have truly impressed this season, going from the Land of Receiving Votes in the preseason and Week 1 before jumping to No. 29, No. 21, No. 19 and No. 14 in ensuing weeks.

You’ll see the women on the course at Chambers Bay Golf Club first at 10 am PT with the men to follow one hour later.

Southeast Region – Ranked Teams
Men’s Poll
Women’s Poll
No. 7 Wake Forest
No. 1 NC State
No. 12 North Carolina
No. 12 Virginia
No. 15 NC State
No. 15 North Carolina
No. 19 Virginia
No. 28 Furman
No. 30 Charlotte
 

Unanimous No. 1 no longer, NC State will look to impose its will once again. The Wolfpack, who are five-time defending regional champions, enter this meet off a pair of surprising results: NC State needed a tiebreaker to beat New Mexico at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational and then barely held off Notre Dame at the ensuing ACC Championships by four points. Even though national champions are decided on the third Saturday in November and not on paper, time is of the essence for the Wolfpack to prove they haven’t lost a step. NC State will be joined in the women’s race, scheduled to start at 11 am ET, by three other ranked teams: No. 12 Virginia, No. 15 North Carolina and No. 28 Furman. NC State, Virginia and UNC all squared off at the ACC Championships two weeks ago. The Cavaliers are the last team other than the Wolfpack to win the regional crown back in 2015.

The men’s race, which is slated to begin at noon ET, features five ranked teams: No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 15 NC State, No. 19 Virginia and No. 30 Charlotte. The Demon Deacons, who are defending champions, are riding a wave of momentum into this meet having just won their first team title at the ACC Championships since 1994 (“The Sign” by Ace of Base was the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 back then). Wake Forest has its work cut out for itself, because a men’s team hasn’t repeated as champion in the Southeast Region since William & Mary went back-to-back-to-back from 2008 to 2010. For North Carolina to contend for the title, runners not named Parker Wolfe need to work their way to the front of the pack. Wolfe finished runner-up at the ACC Championships, but the next Tar Heels almost finished outside of the top-15 at 15th and 16th (UNC’s other scorers ended up 25th and 29th overall).

Checking The Other Regions

Here are how many ranked teams are in the other six regions:

Great Lakes Region: 9

  • Men’s (3): No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 28 Michigan
  • Women’s (6): No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 17 Toledo, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 21 Michigan, No. 22 Wisconsin, No. 25 Ohio State (That’s five within eight spots of each other!)

Mid-Atlantic Region: 4

  • Men’s (2): No. 11 Villanova, No. 17 Princeton
  • Women’s (2): No. 13 Georgetown, No. 29 West Virginia

Midwest Region: 5

  • Men’s (3): No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Tulsa, No. 27 Iowa State
  • Women’s (2): No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 30 Northwestern

Northeast Region: 4

  • Men’s (1): No. 10 Syracuse
  • Women’s (2): No. 18 Providence, No. 26 Syracuse

South Region: 4

  • Men’s (2): No. 16 Tennessee, No. 20 Alabama
  • Women’s (2): No. 7 Alabama, No. 24 Florida State

South Central: 3

  • Men’s (2): No. 22 Arkansas, No. 30 Texas
  • Women’s (1): No. 23 Arkansas