Weekend Preview: Conference Championships & Challenges Galore

It’s officially the postseason.

And teams not yet in the postseason are going to race like it is.

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | USTFCCCA Scoreboard

There are 22 NCAA Division II conferences holding their championships this weekend – of which, 17 feature at least one team that was ranked in the most recent National Coaches’ Polls. None have more than the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) with eight on the men’s side and seven on the women’s side.

Speaking of ranked teams, you’ll see 34 of them from the most recent NAIA National Coaches’ Polls split between the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge and the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic.

Let’s take a closer look at those meets.

RMAC Cross Country Championships
Men’s Teams		Women’s Teams
No. 1 Colo. School of Mines		No. 2 Adams State
No. 4 Adams State		No. 3 Colo. School of Mines
No. 5 Colorado Christian		No. 4 Western Colorado
No. 7 Western Colorado		No. 6 UC-Colorado Springs
No. 23 UC-Colorado Springs		No. 7 CSU Pueblo
No. 27 New Mexico Highlands		No. 13 Colorado Christian
No. 29 CSU Pueblo		No. 25 Fort Lewis
No. 30 Fort Lewis
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE RESULTS FROM THE MEET

Behold the glory of the RMAC Cross Country Championships.

There are 20 combined top-10 programs between the National Coaches’ Polls: nine of them will be in Denver on Saturday. That’s right – nearly half.

Five top-10 women’s teams and four top-10 men’s teams square off in their respective races. We might be underselling the women’s race, because you’ll see five top-7 programs in action: No. 2 Adams State, No. 3 Colo. School of Mines, No. 4 Western Colorado, No. 6 UC-Colorado Springs and No. 7 CSU Pueblo. Expect fireworks from the men’s race, too: No. 1 Colo. School of Mines and No. 4 Adams State always bring the heat and have combined for 15 of the past 17 RMAC titles (Western Colorado won the other two).

The Women’s 6k begins at 10:45 am MT, followed by the Men’s 8k at 11:35 pm MT.

NAIA Great Lakes Challenge
Men’s Teams		Women’s Teams
No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan		No. 10 Cumberlands (Ky.)
No. 7 Cumberlands (Ky.)		No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan
No. 11 Shawnee State (Ohio)		No. 13 Carroll (Mont.)
No. 12 Aquinas (Mich.)		No. 15 St. Francis (Ill.)
No. 13 Goshen (Ind.)		No. 16 Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
No. 14 Grace (Ind.)		No. 17 Cornerstone (Mich.)
No. 16 Carroll (Mont.)		No. 18 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
No. 17 Montana Tech		No. 19 Grace (Ind.)
No. 18 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)		No. 22 Montana Tech
No. 19 St. Francis (Ill.)		No. 24 Indiana Tech
		No. 25 Goshen (Ind.)
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE RESULTS FROM THE MEET

Twenty-one ranked teams will be at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge on Saturday.

Read that again: 21!

Top-ranked Indiana Wesleyan and tenth-ranked Cumberlands (Ky.) headline the men’s and women’s races, respectively. Expect numerous changes to the ensuing National Coaches’ Polls, especially in the middle, because eight men’s teams from No. 11 to No. 20 and eight women’s teams in the same realm will battle in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Men’s Maroon 8k begins at 10 am ET, followed by the Women’s Maroon 5k one hour later.

Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic
Men’s Teams		Women’s Teams
No. 4 Saint Mary (Kan.)		No. 1 Taylor (Ind.)
No. 6 Dordt (Iowa)		No. 4 Saint Mary (Kan.)
No. 8 Oklahoma City		No. 6 Dordt (Iowa)
No. 15 Southern Oregon		No. 7 Southern Oregon
No. 22 Kansas Wesleyan		No. 8 Concordia (Neb.)
No. 23 Taylor (Ind.)		No. 21 Tabor (Kan.)
No. 25 Doane (Neb.)
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE RESULTS FROM THE MEET

Who is ready for the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic on Saturday?

Thirteen nationally-ranked programs are raising their hand.

Five of the top-8 women’s teams from the most recent National Coaches’ Poll are in the mix: No. 1 Taylor (Ind.), No. 4 Saint Mary (Kan.), No. 6 Dordt (Iowa), No. 7 Southern Oregon and No. 8 Concordia (Neb.). Subtract two – but keep the same scope – and that’s what you’ll find in the men’s race: No. 4 Saint Mary (Kan.), No. 6 Dordt (Iowa) and No. 8 Oklahoma City.

The Women’s 6k begins at 10 am CT, followed by the Men’s 8k at 11 am CT.