2025 NCAA DII Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 1

NEW ORLEANS – Cross country is humming along.

Here is the Week 1 edition of the NCAA DII Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for the 2025 season, as released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Regional Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams’ strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining a rank-order of squad potential. Only USTFCCCA member programs are eligible to receive a ranking. Teams with provisional status within the region may be ranked.

Regional Championships Saturday is set for Saturday, November 8.

Atlantic Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Charleston (W.Va.), No. 2 Shippensburg, No. 3 Davis & Elkins

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Concord, No. 5 Kutztown

Notes: Small season-openers galore. No. 1 Charleston (W.Va.) and No. 2 Shippensburg opted for the safe routes. No notes there. On the flipside, No. 3 Davis & Elkins defeated Walsh, ranked No. 21 nationally, by 14 points at the Robert Morris Invitational. The Senators practically presented a crash course on roster depth with a 26 second 1-5 gap and a less than a minute 1-8 gap. Concord made enough noise at the Southern Showcase to earn No. 4 and Kutztown slid up from No. 7 to No. 5 based on their win at the Kutztown Division II/III Challenge.

Central Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 East Central (Okla.), No. 2 Northwest Missouri, No. 3 Washburn

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Pittsburg State, No. 5 Augustana (S.D.)

Notes: Don’t be fooled, No. 1 East Central (Okla.) is just as dangerous as they’ve always been. A skewed 1-5 spread at the Aggie Duels is fixed when looking at just the top-4. The gap shrinks from 3:04 to 33 seconds. That’s not to say that No. 2 Northwest Missouri isn’t nipping at the Tiger’s tail. The Bearcats clashed with No. 6 Neb.-Kearney at the Platte River Rumble and pranced away with a 50 point victory. Not to mention, their 1-3 was within a couple seconds of Geofrey Ronoh – a top-5 finisher at the 2024 NJCAA DI Championships. Augustana (S.D.) saw the only movement rankings-wise, leapfrogging Missouri Western to steal the No. 5 spot.  

East Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Roberts Wesleyan, No. 2 Southern Connecticut State, No. 3 Bentley

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Assumption, No. 5 Wilmington (Del.)

Notes: No. 1 Roberts Wesleyan may just have the edge over No. 2 Southern Connecticut State. Vying for the top spot, the two East Region powerhouses left the nest this weekend. The Redhawks showed out at the Hamilton Short Course averaging 15:38 over 5k, a nine second improvement from last year’s performance. The Owls managed a tight spread of their own at the University of Hartford Invite, putting 1-5 in a 49 second span. Wilmington (Del.) jumped five places to settle in at No. 5 after handily beating No. 6 Jefferson (Pa.) head-to-head 27-48. Julian Jones should help anchor the Wildcats moving forward as a low stick, taking the win at the Philadelphia Cross Classic by 15 seconds. 

Midwest Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Grand Valley State, No. 2 Saginaw Valley State, No. 3 Lewis

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Walsh, No. 5 Michigan Tech

Notes: To no one’s surprise, No. 1 Grand Valley State is off to a hot start. The Lakers doused the field at the Spartan Invite that saw several Big-10 teams in attendance, only losing out to host Michigan State. A big reason for the early success? Koby Fraaza, who is quickly emerging as an individual star for GVSU. The 2024 All-American finished second in the overall standings. No. 4 Walsh countered with their own showing at the Robert Morris Invitational, putting two in the top-7 and all five in the top-20. Fast course or not, a 24:51 average is no joke. 

South Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Lee (Tenn.), No. 2 Alabama-Huntsville, No. 3 Tampa

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Mississippi College, No. 5 Florida Southern

Notes: Leave the No. 1 title in the South Region to Lee (Tenn.). At least for this week. Trust us. The Flames smoked any and all NCAA DII competition at the Southern Showcase, averaging 24:32 over 8k. Lee (Tenn.) placed nine spots ahead of anyone else in the region, and to think that was with two of its top-5 watching from the sidelines. No. 2 Alabama-Huntsville and No. 3 Tampa rocked a similar boat, finishing 16th and 18th once the dust settled. Two teams with young talent that should progress throughout the season; their battle is just beginning. 

South Central Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Colo. School of Mines, No. 2 Adams State, No. 3 Colorado Christian

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Western Colorado, No. 5 West Texas A&M

Notes: No. 1 Colo. School of Mines – idle this weekend. The rest of the South Central Region – a bit antsier. As per usual, No. 2 Adams State took care of business at their home opener, the Joe I. Vigil Open, sweeping the team race despite sitting their top-5. Colorado Christian garnered attention at the UCCS Rust Buster, putting five guys ahead of No. 6 UC-Colorado Springs’ second runner. Paired with an average time 21 seconds faster than the Mountain Lions, the Cougars were awarded the No. 3 spot. 

Southeast Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Wingate, No. 2 Anderson (S.C.), No. 3 Flagler

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Augusta, No. 5 Catawba

Notes: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The Wingate mantra, and why the No. 1 Bulldogs are comfortable resting until the time to strike is right. On the schedule, it appears that date would be the Paul Short Run on October 3. Until then, they remain the favorites – tough to say otherwise with four straight Southeast Region titles to their name. No. 2 Anderson (S.C.) employed a similar strategy while No. 4 Augusta took the road less traveled. The Jags were rewarded with a podium finish at the Queen City Invite, bested only by a couple of NCAA DI programs. 

West Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Chico State, No. 2 Cal Poly Pomona, No. 3 Western Washington

Also in the Hunt: No. 4 Biola (Calif.), No. 5 Northwest Nazarene

Notes: No. 1 Chico State had its work cut out at the Kim Duyst Twilight Invitational, tasked with a 17-team field chalk full of NCAA DI programs. Luckily for the Wildcats, M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week Mario Giannini, and 2024 NCAA West Region Champion Damian Garcia headed the charge. The 1-2 punch finished second and fifth, leading to just a ten point gap to UC Davis, the overall winners. Cal Poly Pomona straight up dominated the CSU San Marcos Cougar Challenge, scoring a mere 20 points to No. 2 in the West Region. The Broncos went 1-2-4-6-7 for a 14 second spread.