Colorado Mines Men Back to No. 1 in Jumbled Post-Conference DII National Poll

NEW ORLEANS – Don’t take away Colorado Mines’ crown just yet.

After spending just one edition of the NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll at No. 3, the defending national champion Orediggers are back at No. 1 with a decisive win over former national favorite Adams State at the RMAC Championships.

The newest poll, announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, sets the stage for next weekend’s regional championships – the litmus test for determining who does and who does not qualify for the NCAA Championships in Saint Leo, Florida, on November 19.

National PDFs: Top 25 Summary | Week-by-Week 2016 | Week-by-Week All-Time
Regional Rankings PDFs: Regional Rankings Summary | Rankings Recap

Division II XC Polls/Rankings Central | WOMEN’S POLL

NCAA Division II National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Colorado Mines GVSU Adams State Chico State Augustana (S.D.) View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll

Colorado Mines plays the leading role with seven of the eight first-place votes cast in its favor, while GLIAC Champion No. 2 Grand Valley State garnered the final top nod.

Adams State fell back to No. 3, followed by CCAA champ No. 4 Chico State and NSIC winner No. 5 Augustana (S.D.). The Vikings moved up two spots from last time.

The Orediggers made a statement at the RMAC Championships, topping ASU, 20-44. Sydney Gidabuday got the win for Adams State individually, but it was all Mines after that. Nathanael Williams came in just two seconds behind Gidabuday, stringing along with him the rest of the Orediggers’ scoring lineup in third through sixth places – all before the Grizzlies’ second runner crossed the line.

When the dust settled, Mines had put six in the top-10, and eight in the top-20, in a conference that still accounts for four of the top-10 teams in the nation (CSM, ASU, No. 8 CSU-Pueblo and No. 10 Western State).

GVSU was similarly dominant in winning the GLIAC Championships – its 15th in a row – with Zach Panning finishing runner-up to lead three in the top four and six in the top-11. The Lakers prevailed over Saginaw Valley State, 28-77. SVSU moved up two spots to No. 13 with the result – its best rank since 2006.

Facing a head-to-head showdown with then-No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona, Chico State proved it’s still the team to beat out west. Led by individual winner William Reyes, six Wildcats crossed the line before Cal Poly Pomona could even manage one. The result: a 20-67 victory for Chico.

The Broncos, meanwhile, dropped four spots to No. 9.

Augustana (S.D) was the class of the NSIC, as individual champion Glen Ellingson led the Vikings to a 28-47 victory over No. 23 MSU-Moorhead.

While Chico knocked off one contender out west, it’ll have to face another on November 5 in GNAC champ No. 6 Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves moved up three positions after taking the GNAC crown over Simon Fraser, 31-60, behind the 1-2 punch of Edwin Kangogo and Michel Ramirez.

GLVC winner Southern Indiana moved up three spots to No. 7.

The landscape was even further altered beyond the top-10, as no team ranked between No. 10 and No. 25 held steady from two weeks ago.

The biggest leap was made by No. 14 American International, which moved up five spots with a win at the Northeast-10 Championships.

Moving up four spots each were MIAA champ No. 12 Missouri Southern, Lone Star champ No. 18 West Texas A&M and PSAC winner No. 19 Shippensburg.

Heading the opposite direction were No. 17 Hillsdale and Gulf South champ No. 20 Lee (Tenn.), which dropped six spots apiece. Dropping out of the top-25 altogether were Black Hills State, Walsh and Academy of Art.

Returning to the top-25 in their stead were No. 23 MSU Moorhead, No. 24 Simon Fraser and No. 25 Bellarmine.

See the full National Coaches’ Poll below.

The USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll for DII ranks the top 25 teams in the country. Voting panel of eight consists of the eight regional representatives, per gender.