Division II National Coaches Poll

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Western State Men Climb to No. 1 in the Division II National Coaches Poll
October 30, 2013

NEW ORLEANS – After taking down defending men’s national champion No. 1 Adams State at the RMAC Championships, Western State has taken over as the No. 1 team in Wednesday’s Week Six U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Coaches Poll, headlining a number of post-conference championship changes.

NATIONAL PDFs: National Summary | Week-by-Week | Week-by-Week All-Time
REGIONAL PDFs: Regional Summary | Week-by-Week
Division II XC Rankings Central

NCAA DIVISION II NATIONAL COACHES POLL TOP 5 – MEN
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
Western St. (+1) Adams St. (-1) GVSU Chico St. (+1) Colorado Mines (-1)
View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll
Conference championships weekend produced a number of significant shifts in both the men’s and the women’s polls, none more seismic than Western State’s move to unanimous No. 1. It marks just the second time in the past 43 editions of the poll that Adams State, now No. 2, hasn’t occupied the No. 1 spot dating back to 2009.

The only other team to hold the top spot during that time? None other than the 2011 Western State Mountaineers, who took over the top spot after winning RMACs en route to a national title. Adams State took the Central Region title that year over Western State.

This year’s iteration of the Mountaineers captured the RMAC title behind an individual championship effort by National Athlete of the Week Vegard Olstad. The junior defeated former national honoree Kevin Batt and defending RMAC champion Tabor Stevens of Adams State to lead a contingent of seven WSC runners in the top 10.

NCAA DIVISION II NATIONAL COACHES POLL TOP 5 – WOMEN
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
GVSU Adams St. Western St. Alaska Anchorage (+1) Chico St. (+2)
View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll
Adams State, meanwhile, dropped to No. 2 in the poll. The Grizzlies ran without two of their five returning All-Americans from last year’s national champion team. The two squads will meet again next weekend for the South Central Region Championships, and likely again at the National Championships two weeks after that.

Western State wasn’t the only big mover, as the men of Lock Haven and West Texas A&M moved into the top 10, as did the Minnesota Duluth and Southern Indiana women.

Men
Behind Western State and Adams State, the Lakers from Grand Valley State remained No. 3 in the nation following their 12th consecutive GLIAC title.

No. 4 Chico State moved up one spot from a week ago after turning in a dominant performance at the CCAA championships, turning in a perfect 15 team score with the race’s top six runners, all within just over three seconds of one another. The title was their 12th in a row.

Down to No. 5 was Colorado Mines, which finished third at the RMAC Championships.

No. 6 Augustana (S.D.) remained stationary in the poll after winning its fifth straight NSIC team championship. Paul Yak earned his third individual conference title in a row as the men scored a slim 16 points.

Also remaining put in the poll was No. 7 Southern Indiana, which followed former National Athlete of the Week and individual GLVC champion Johnnie Guy and four other top-eight finishers to a ninth-straight league title.

New to the top 10 this week is Lock Haven at No. 8, up five spots from last week. The Bald Eagles were guided by three-time PSAC individual champion Alex Monroe and four other top-15 finishers to the conference title over then-top-10 Edinboro, 37-72. Edinboro is now No. 14. This is the first time in the top 10 for Lock Haven since week two of the 2012 season, and the highest it has been since holding the No. 8 spot during the 2011 preseason.

Despite winning its fourth consecutive GNAC title, the Alaska Anchorage men fell one spot to No. 9. The Seawolves’ margin of victory was a narrow one, just three points over No. 16 Western Washington, which moved up six spots from a week ago.

Rounding out the top 10 is West Texas A&M, which joins the top 10 for the first time since the beginning of USTFCCCA records in 2009. Behind individual champion Dylan Doss, the Buffs placed five runners among the meet’s top eight finishers for a comfortable team victory.

After knocking off then-No. 10 Missouri Southern by just one point at the MIAA Championships, 56-57, Central Missouri is up to a season-best No. 11. The Mules haven’t been ranked this high since week six of the 2011 season when they peaked at No. 10.

Missouri Southern fell to No. 13.

Making a return to the poll is No. 22 Stonehill, which won the Northeast-10 title this weekend over No. 25 Franklin Pierce.

Women
No. 1 defending national champion Grand Valley State extended its streak of consecutive conference titles to 13 with another GLIAC title, lengthening the longest active streak among women’s DII teams. The Lakers placed all five scorers within the top 11 finishers, led by runner-up Allyson Winchester and third-place Jessica Janecke .

Adams State stayed put at No. 2 following its second straight RMAC title, edging No. 3 Western State by just eight points behind individual champion Lauren Martin and two other top-five finishers.

Led by fourth-place Anna Marshall, WSC put four runners in the top 11 finishers.

The No. 4 spot is held by a new team as former occupant Augustana (S.D.) fell to No. 12 after finishing runner-up at the NSIC Championships. Up one spot to replace the Vikings is Alaska Anchorage, which defeated No. 6 Simon Fraser en route to its fourth consecutive GNAC title. Two-time individual winner Susan Tanui led three Seawolves in the top four finishers as the squad is now ranked its highest since holding a No. 4 position in week seven of the 2011 season.

Chico State improved two spots from the last poll to check in as the No. 5 squad. The Wildcats dominated the CCAA en route to a sixth straight title, led by individual champion Ayla Granados and three other top-seven finishers.

Simon Fraser remained stationary at No. 6.

No. 7 Metro State was a distant third behind No. 2 Adams State and No. 3 Western State at the RMAC Championships (37-45-105), but behind individual runner-up and former National Athlete of the Week Janelle Lincks the Roadrunners are up one spot to their highest rank in program history.

No. 8 Minnesota Duluth is into the top 10 for the first time since early in the 2011 season following an upset of five-time reigning NSIC champ Augustana (S.D.), 50-67, behind fourth-place Samantha Rivard and fifth-place Hannah Olson and two other top-10 finishers. This marks the first time the Bulldogs have had a single-digit rank since late in the 2010 season, and the last top-10 NCAA finish for the program was a seventh-place showing in 2009.

No. 9 UC-Colorado Springs narrowly finished fourth behind Metro State at the RMAC Championships, 105-110. The Mountain Lions moved up one spot from the last poll.

Rounding out the top 10 is Southern Indiana, which rejoins the top 10 after its third consecutive GLVC team title. The Screaming Eagles were ranked as high as No. 8 in week three of the 2013 poll.

Just outside the top 10 was Mansfield, which shocked four ranked teams, including five-time defending champ Shippensburg, en route to the PSAC title to jump from receiving votes nationally to No. 11. After starting the season at No. 12 — then the best rank for the program since USTFCCCA records began in 2009 — the Mountaineers had been unranked for all but one week this season. Among those teams they beat are current top-25 teams in No. 14 Edinboro, No. 16 Shippensburg and No. 20 Indiana (Pa.).

Making a similarly large leap was No. 13 Saginaw Valley State, which was receiving votes nationally a week ago. The Cardinals finished runners-up to No. 1 GVSU at the GLIAC Championships and ahead of No. 15 Malone and No. 19 Hillsdale. The rank is the program’s highest since the beginning of USTFCCCA records, and is on par with 12th- and 13th-place showings at the past two NCAA Championships.

Also returning to the poll were No. 17 Southwest Baptist, No. 20 Winona State and No. 25 UW-Parkside. Southwest Baptist is tied at No. 17 with West Texas A&M, and Winona State shared the No. 20 spot with Indiana (Pa.).

The Division II National Championships will be held Saturday, November 23, in Spokane, Wash., and will be broadcast live on NCAA.com.



USTFCCCA NCAA DIVISION II
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL RANKINGS
2013 Week #6 — October 30
next release: November 13 (next week off)

Rank Institution (FPV) Points Region Conference Head Coach (Yr*) Last
Week
1 Western State (8) 200 South Central RMAC Jennifer Michel (7th) 2
2 Adams State 186 South Central RMAC Damon Martin (19th) 1
3 Grand Valley State 184 Midwest GLIAC Jerry Baltes (15th) 3
4 Chico State 180 West CCAA Gary Towne (18th) 5
5 Colorado Mines 167 South Central RMAC Chris Siemers (2nd) 4
6 Augustana (S.D.) 159 Central NSIC Tracy Hellman (13th) 6
7 Southern Indiana 156 Midwest GLVC Mike Hillyard (16th) 7
8 Lock Haven 129 Atlantic PSAC Aaron Russell (16th) 13
9 Alaska Anchorage 125 West GNAC Michael Friess (24th) 8
10 West Texas A&M 122 South Central Lone Star Darren Flowers (5th) 11
11 Central Missouri 117 Central MIAA Kirk Pedersen (27th) 14
12 Mount Olive 107 Southeast Conf. Carolinas Matt van Lierop (5th) 12
13 Missouri Southern 101 Central MIAA Bryan Schiding (1st) 10
14 Edinboro 93 Atlantic PSAC Rick Hammer (1st) 9
15 Malone 80 Midwest GLIAC Jack Hazen (47th) 15
16 Western Washington 74 West GNAC Pee Wee Halsell (27th) 22
17 New Mexico Highlands 65 South Central RMAC Bob DeVries (22nd) 20
18 Metro State 62 South Central RMAC Nick Maas (1st) 16
19 Shippensburg 50 Atlantic PSAC Steve Spence (16th) 18
20 Cedarville 48 Midwest G-MAC Paul Orchard (11th) 21
21 Cal Poly Pomona 46 West CCAA Octavious Gillespie-Bennett (2nd) 17
22 Stonehill 39 East Northeast-10 Karen Boen (16th) RV
23 Sioux Falls 30 Central NSIC Grant Watley (2nd) 24
24 Ashland 22 Midwest GLIAC Trent Mack (4th) 22
25 Franklin Pierce 13 East Northeast-10 Zach Emerson (2nd) 19
Also Receiving Votes: Southwest Baptist 11, American International 9, Florida Southern 7, GRU Augusta 5, Alabama-Huntsville 4, UC San Diego 3, King 3, Neb.-Kearney 2, Hillsdale 1
Dropped Out: No. 25 Florida Southern
(* year as head coach of that team in men’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed)



USTFCCCA NCAA DIVISION II
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL RANKINGS
2013 Week #6 — October 30
next release: November 13 (next week off)

Rank Institution (FPV) Points Region Conference Head Coach (Yr*) Last
Week
1 Grand Valley State (8) 200 Midwest GLIAC Jerry Baltes (15th) 1
2 Adams State 192 South Central RMAC Damon Martin (26th) 2
3 Western State 184 South Central RMAC Jennifer Michel (7th) 3
4 Alaska Anchorage 176 West GNAC Michael Friess (24th) 5
5 Chico State 167 West CCAA Gary Towne (18th) 7
6 Simon Fraser 154 West GNAC Brit Townsend (14th) 6
7 Metro State 150 South Central RMAC Nick Maas (1st) 8
8 Minnesota Duluth 138 Central NSIC Joanna Warmington (3rd) 15
9 UC-Colorado Springs 133 South Central RMAC David Harmer (2nd) 10
10 Southern Indiana 124 Midwest GLVC Mike Hillyard (17th) 11
11 Mansfield 113 Atlantic PSAC Mike Rohl (11th) RV
12 Augustana (S.D.) 111 Central NSIC Tracy Hellman (13th) 4
13 Saginaw Valley State 91 Midwest GLIAC Rod Cowan (4th) RV
14 Edinboro 87 Atlantic PSAC Rick Hammer (1st) 9
15 Malone 84 Midwest GLIAC Jack Hazen (23rd) 12
16 Shippensburg 67 Atlantic PSAC Steve Spence (16th) 13
17 Southwest Baptist 65 Central MIAA Corey McElhaney (6th) RV
17 West Texas A&M 65 South Central Lone Star Kimberly Dudley (16th) 21
19 Hillsdale 56 Midwest GLIAC Andrew Towne (3rd) 14
20 Winona State 34 Central NSIC Brett Ayers (1st) NR
20 Indiana (Pa.) 34 Atlantic PSAC Joey Zins (5th) 18
22 Stonehill 32 East Northeast-10 Karen Boen (16th) 22
23 Tampa 26 South Sunshine Jarrett Slaven (15th) 23
24 Cal State Stanislaus 21 West CCAA Diljeet Taylor (7th) 25
25 UW-Parkside 18 Midwest GLVC Micah VanDenend (4th) NR
Also Receiving Votes: Wingate 16, Lewis 13, Dallas Baptist 12, U-Mary 9, Northern Michigan 8, Pittsburg State 8, Neb.-Kearney 6, Alabama-Huntsville 5, Seton Hill 1
Dropped Out: No. 16 Pittsburg State, No. 17 Midwestern State, No. 18 U-Mary, No. 20 Northern Michigan, No. 24 Seton Hill
(* year as head coach of that team in women’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed)




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