2022 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 7
NEW ORLEANS – #TheRunToStillwater reached its climax.
Here is the Pre-Championships Edition of the NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, as released on Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). There was a lot of movement in the most recent National Coaches’ Poll, as all but four teams held steady following a thrilling Regional Championships Friday.
NCAA Division I — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Stanford
Stanford
2
Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona
3
BYU
BYU
4
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State
5
Tulsa
Tulsa
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Nothing changed at the tip-top, though, as Stanford cemented its stronghold atop the National Coaches’ Poll. The top-ranked Cardinal, which hauled in 10 of 11 possible first-place votes, rolled to the team title at the West Region Championships, scoring just 45 points. Stanford, considered the odds-on favorite to win the team title in Stillwater, Oklahoma, is seeking its first since 2003.
Two-time defending national champion Northern Arizona improved one spot to No. 2, swapping places with BYU. The Lumberjacks leapfrogged the Cougars based on their head-to-head victory at the Mountain Region Championships this past weekend. NAU outscored BYU, 43-54, as Nico Young and Drew Bosley went 1-2 and the rest of the scoring lineup took places 9-14-17. The Cougars put three in the top-10 and four in the top-15 to finish a close runner-up.
Oklahoma State and Tulsa sit No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, following an incredible battle at the Midwest Region Championships. Officials had to go to a tiebreaker after both the Cowboys and the Golden Hurricane finished with 49 points. Tulsa, thanks to its front-end depth in taking four of the top-six spots, was able to knock off Oklahoma State, 3-2. The Cowboys, who won the Big 12 title earlier in the postseason, have been ranked fourth in each of the past five weeks.
No other team maintained its same spot in the top-10 from the previous week: Wisconsin is now ranked No. 6 following its dominating victory at the Great Lakes Region Championships; the next two spots belong to the third- and fourth-place finishers in the Mountain Region – No. 7 Colorado and No. 8 Air Force; Northeast Region champion Syracuse is now slotted in at No. 9, followed by Southeast Region Champion North Carolina at No. 10.
Other notable improvements in the National Coaches’ Poll were turned in by South Region champion Tennessee (up six spots from No. 20 to No. 14), West Region runner-up Gonzaga (up 11 spots from No. 26 to No. 15) and Mid-Atlantic Region runner-up Georgetown (back in the National Coaches’ Poll at No. 22 after falling into the Land of Receiving Votes in Week 6).
Remember that the 2022 NCAA DI Cross Country Championships are THIS SATURDAY at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma! You can watch the action uninterrupted on ESPNU beginning at 10 am ET. The men’s race starts at 11:10 am ET.
