2025 NCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Preseason
NEW ORLEANS – Cross country is back.
Here is the 2025 preseason edition of the NCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday. USTFCCCA polls and rankings are presented by AthleticNET.
NCAA Division II — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Wingate
Wingate
2
Colo. School of Mines
Colo. School of Mines
3
Adams State
Adams State
4
Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State
5
Western Colorado
Western Colorado
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Three points is all that separated champion Colo. School of Mines and runner-up Wingate at the 2024 NCAA Championships. The Orediggers and the Bulldogs fought tooth-and-nail throughout the 10k distance as the former won 63-66. Fast forward to today and Colo. School of Mines and Wingate sit No. 1 and No. 2 in the poll, but in a different order.
The top-ranked Bulldogs welcome back just a single member from their previous nationals campaign, Antonin Saint-Peyre, who finished as an All-American (22nd). Fear not though, as Luca Poppe and Joaquin Campos will fill in a few gaps, bringing along their third-place and sixth-place finishes from the Southeast Regional Championship. And it’s hard to ignore their newcomers. Take Mohamed Damouch for example, a sophomore that made the jump from Iowa Central CC with a 1500m national title already to his name. This is just the second time in program history that Wingate is ranked No. 1 in the preseason.
A few votes behind sit the Orediggers. Dubbed “deeper and older than they’ve been in the past,” Colo. School of Mines will look to unearth the same success they found last year. Four All-Americans remain between Ethan Grolnic (ninth), Paul Knight (21st), Dawson Gunn (25th), and Jeremiah Vaille (37th) and a possible fifth-man emerged this spring in Max Bonenberger, an All-American in the steeplechase. He’ll have some healthy competition for that spot from Charles Welch, a Colorado transfer who posted an 8:50 steeplechase in his own right. This marks a decade that No. 2 Colo. School of Mines has started the season as a top-5 team.
Consensus for the No. 3 spot landed on Adams State. The top-end All-American duo of Kidus Begashaw (14th) and Julian Campos (30th) will be back for another go, paving the way for Housem Hrabi (44th), Nathan Scherbarth (130th), David Millan (140th) to roar up the charts. As if that wasn’t enough, the Grizzlies recruited a few international transfers of their own. The spotlight is on Luca Madeo, the German half marathon national champion and the NAIA national champion in the 5k and 10k.
Grand Valley State was awarded No. 4 in the preseason edition. The Lakers return Koby Fraaza (27th) and Brock Wooderson (44th) from their 2024 NCAA Championships roster. The pair should be able to calm the waters while they wait for the rest of the team to make some waves. Owen Westerkamp will likely lead that charge after finishing 20th at the Midwest Regional Championships. GVSU also has Conor Somers and Andre Richmond, who both ran 14:07 or faster over the 5k distance.
Rounding out the list at No. 5 is Western Colorado. With their highest ranking in four years, the Mountaineers are in good shape, bringing back five of their top-seven. RMAC Freshman of the Year, Oliver Diaz, set off fireworks last fall, securing the final All-American spot (40th). Tyler Nord (43rd) and Branden Davis (81st) don’t have to too far a hike to catch-up. With Davis & Elkins transfer Jan Thewes joining during the offseason, experience becomes the only question here.
No. 6 East Central (Okla.), No. 7 Chico State, No. 8 West Texas A&M, No. 9 Colorado Christian, and No. 10 Saginaw Valley State round out the top-ten teams.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 22, because that’s when the 2025 NCAA DII Cross Country Championships will be held at the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
