2021 NCAA DII Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 6

NEW ORLEANS – Leave it to an exciting Conference Championships Weekend to really shake things up!

Here is the Week 6 edition of the NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday.

This is also the final set of regional rankings for the season. Regional Championships Friday is set for November 6.

Atlantic Region

There were several changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Atlantic Region.

Charleston (W.VA.) and Edinboro remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, after winning their conference championships. No. 3 Shippensburg and No. 4 Concord traded spots from Week 5, while Lock Haven improved to No. 5 after a four spot jump. The Golden Eagles beat the Mountain Lions by 30 points at the Mountain East Conference Championships. The PSAC Championships were won by the Fighting Scots, followed by the Raiders and Bald Eagles in second and third, respectively.

Central Region

There was a minor change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Central Region.

Augustana (S.D.), Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern remain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Now no. 4 Northwest Missouri and now No. 5 Neb.-Kearney traded places for the third straight week. The Vikings solidified themselves as the top regional team after achieving a perfect score to win the NSIC Championship. The next four spots were decided by the MIAA Championships as those teams finished first, second, third and fourth, respectively.

East Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the East Region.

American International and Southern Connecticut remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Stonehill, No. 4 Roberts Wesleyan and No. 5 Franklin Pierce. Four of the top-5 teams battled it out at the NE-10 Championships: the Yellow Jackets topped the Owls by 10 points, 28-38, for the team title; the Skyhawks finished third and the Ravens came in fourth. Roberts Wesleyan topped the field with a near perfect score of 17 at the East Coast Conference Championships.

Midwest Region

There were some shakeups in the middle of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region.

Grand Valley State remained No. 1 and continues to dominate the GLIAC. The results of the GLVC Championships impacted the middle of the order: Lewis climbed one spot to No. 2 after successfully defending its crown; Illinois-Springfield jumped three spots to No. 3 after beating former No. 2 (now No. 4) Southern Indiana by one point for second place. Walsh, who also held steady, remained at No. 5 Walsh after capturing the G-MAC crown.

South Region

There were several changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Region.

The battle for No. 1 continues to be between Alabama-Huntsville and Lee (Tenn.), which now belongs to the Chargers after taking down the Flames (now No. 2) at the Gulf South Championships, 37-47. No. 3 Mississippi College and No. 4 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) held steady, while Saint Leo jumped into the No. 5 position after a one spot jump. The Choctaws placed third at the GSC Championships, while the Eagles won the Sunshine State Cross Country Championships and the Lions finished ahead of former No. 5 (now No. 6) Florida Southern for second.

South Central Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Central Region.

Colorado School of Mines and Adams State remained at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Colorado Christian, No. 4 UC-Colorado Springs and No. 5 Western Colorado. Here is how it went over in the RMAC Championships: the Orediggers won the team title by19 points over the second-place Grizzlies; the Mountain Lions finished third; the Mountaineers came in fourth. Although the Cougars placed seventh, our regional ranker noted that they rested their top runners and showcased their depth.

Southeast Region

There was a minor shakeup to the order of the top-5 teams in the Southeast Region.

Wingate, Queens (N.C.) and Augusta remain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Former No. 5 (now No. 4) Catawba leapfrogged Anderson (S.C.) to bump them back to No. 5. Four of the five teams raced at the South Atlantic Conference Championships: the Bulldogs rolled to the team and beat the second-place Royals by 36 points; the Indians and Trojans tied at 87 points, but the Indians won the tie breaker. In the Peach Belt Conference, the Jags posted the first perfect score in conference history since 1994.

West Region

There were some big shifts to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region.

Chico State and Simon Fraser were the only two to remain steady at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. Fresno Pacific jumped two spots to No. 2, which bumped Western Washington to No. 4, while Azusa Pacific climbed two spots to No. 5 for their first top-5 appearance of the year. Three conference championships impacted this week’s rankings: the Wildcats continued to sit atop the CCAA with their 19th straight title; the Sun Birds won the PacWest Championships and the Cougars beat former No. 5 (now No. 6) Biola (Calif.) by 10 points for second; SFU beat the Vikings by five points for the GNAC title.