2023 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – This past weekend was Nutty.
What happened at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational shook up the most recent edition of the NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Twenty-two programs that were ranked among the top-30 of the previous National Coaches’ Poll met up in Madison, Wisconsin, for the biggest race of the regular season. Runners faced cross-country weather in its truest sense: persistent rain and sustained winds of 15 mph.
Here were the top-10 teams at the conclusion of the meet: Northern Arizona, BYU, Syracuse, California Baptist, Texas, Harvard, Colorado, Villanova and Furman.
Now, let’s look at the top-10 of the most recent National Coaches’ Poll, in order: No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 2 Oklahoma State (did not run in Wisconsin), No. 3 BYU, No. 4 Syracuse, No. 5 California Baptist, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Harvard, No. 8 Arkansas (won the XC23 Pre-Nationals Invitational), No. 9 Colorado and No. 10 Villanova. Furman is ranked 12th, if you’re curious.
NCAA Division I — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona
2
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State
3
BYU
BYU
4
Syracuse
Syracuse
5
California Baptist
California Baptist
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
It has been a meteoric rise for CBU, which transitioned to NCAA DI within the past few years and was just granted full membership status last year. The Lancers went from receiving votes from the electorate in 2021 to the top-25 in 2022 and are now among the nation’s elite at No. 5, tying a conference record in the process (BYU was also fifth when it was a member of the WAC in 1994). CBU didn’t have a top-20 athlete in Wisconsin, but were one of three programs with its entire scoring lineup in the top-75 (NAU and BYU were the others).
Harvard had never been ranked in the top-10 before this season. Now, the Crimson hold the seventh-best billing among all NCAA DI programs and is the top-ranked Ivy League program since at least 1995. Finishing in the top-6 at a stacked meet like the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational is no small feat, but is made a lot easier when the squad gets an ultimate low stick from individual champion Graham Blanks, who was named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week for his efforts. Harvard ended up with 287 points in Mad City, one point behind Texas and now one spot behind the Longhorns in the National Coaches’ Poll.
Furman surprised everybody but itself with its tenth-place finish in Wisconsin. The Paladins, who were unranked entering the meet, notched their best rank since two years ago when they were tenth. Furman is seeking to better its best rank in program history, which is seventh.
Both Princeton and New Mexico had notable improvements as well. The Tigers, who charged 14 spots from No. 29 to No. 15, recorded their best rank since 2013, while the Lobos went from receiving votes to No. 18 for their best rank since 2015.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 18, because that’s when the 2023 NCAA DI Cross Country Championships will be held at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Virginia.
