Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Adams State Men Reclaim Top Spot in Division II Heading into NCAA Championships







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Adams State Men Reclaim Top Spot in Division II Heading into NCAA Championships
November 13, 2013

NEW ORLEANS – Adams State’s men will enter the NCAA Division II Championships as defending champions and the No. 1 team in the nation, having reclaimed the top spot in the final U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II National Coaches Poll released Wednesday.

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

The Grizzlies claimed the South Central Region over former No. 1 Western State to even the season series between the two — WSCU won the RMAC — with the final match-up set for next weekend — November 23, to be specific — at NCAAs in Spokane, Wash., with national title honors on the line.

Adams State’s No. 2 women also made headway toward the top spot by claiming one of the first-place votes from No. 1 defending champion Grand Valley State. The Lakers retained the other seven votes.

These two developments at the top of the polls are just the tip of the iceberg on post-regionals changes, with six positions in the men’s top 10 and four in the women’s occupied by different teams in this final poll before NCAAs.

The National Championships can be steamed live online at NCAA.com, and more information about the meet can be found at National Championships Central and in The Warm-Up Lap next week.

MEN
NCAA DIVISION II NATIONAL COACHES POLL TOP 5 – MEN
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
Adams St. (+1) Western St. (-1) GVSU Chico St. Augustana (S.D.) (+1)
View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll

No. 2 Western State may have won the individual battle in the South Central Region with winner Vegard Olstad, but it was Adams State that emerged with the team title defense over the Mountaineers, 31-38, behind four top-10 finishers in arguably the deepest region in the nation. As a result, Adams State took over the top spot from Western State and will go for its fourth title in the past five years as the No. 1 team.

Events are playing out nearly exactly the same as in 2011, when No. 2 Western State won the RMAC over No. 1 Adams State, which came back to win the region title and reclaim the top spot in the nation. Ultimately, Western State claimed the national title over defending champ Adams State.

No. 3 GVSU held serve in the Midwest for its 12th consecutive region title, where it held off No. 7 Southern Indiana — which also remained stationary in the poll — 53-64.

No. 4 Chico State was dominant in a 33-81 victory over Alaska Anchorage, which fell one spot to No. 10, behind similarly dominant individual winner Isaac Chavez.

Augustana (S.D.) claimed a second straight Central Region title to move into the top five at No. 5. No other team was even close as the Vikings took five of the top 12 individual spots behind winner Paul Yak to defeat No. 12 Central Missouri and No. 13 Missouri Southern, 37-115-116.

Colorado Mines dropped back one spot to No. 6 with a third-place finish at the South Central meet.

Behind the only active three-time region champ in the NCAA in Alex Monroe, No. 8 Lock Haven remained steady in the poll with a 44-63 victory over Edinboro — which jumped five spots to No. 9.

Just outside the top 10, No. 11 Mount Olive moved up one spot with a Southeast Region title to its highest rank since USTFCCCA records began in 2009.

No. 14 Metro State was the biggest gainer outside the top 10 with a four-spot jump from the last poll with a fourth-place team finish in the South Central in a tie-breaker with No. 15 West Texas A&M. The Roadrunners were last ranked No. 14 in the middle of 2011, when they went on to finish ninth at NCAAs.

No. 22 Neb.-Kearney joined the poll for the first time this season with a fourth-place finish in the Central Region. No. 23 Ferris State rejoined for the first time since the preseason with a fourth-place finish to clinch the final NCAA bid in the region.

WOMEN
NCAA DIVISION II NATIONAL COACHES POLL TOP 5 – WOMEN
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
GVSU Adams St. Western St. Alaska Anchorage Chico St.
View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

Seas were calm for the Lakers of Grand Valley at the Midwest Region as they claimed their Division-best 13th straight region title over No. 11 Saginaw Valley State — up two spots to its highest rank since USTFCCCA records began in 2009 — by a score of 42-103. GVSU, which will go for its third national title in four years next weekend, put seven runners in the top 25; no other team in the meet had more than three.

More than halfway across the country at the South Central Regional, No. 2 Adams State took some of the wind out of the Lakers’ sails — in the form of one of their first-place votes — with a decisive win behind winner Lauren Martin and the next two finishers en route to a 28-62 win over No. 3 Western State. The Grizzlies are going for their first title since 2009, the last in a streak of seven straight before GVSU snapped that in 2010.

Western State finished runner-up in two of the past three years and will be going for its first national crown since the last in a streak of three in 2002.

No. 4 Alaska Anchorage reclaimed the West Region title from No. 5 Chico State, which snapped a three-year winning streak for UAA last season, but just barely with a narrow 76-79 win. Last year’s national runner-up Susan Tanui claimed her second straight region title.

No. 6 Simon Fraser finished third in the West and remained stationary in the poll.

The movement in the women’s poll began at No. 7, occupied this week by Central Region champion Minnesota Duluth after a one-position increase. The Bulldogs took down No. 13 Southwest Baptist and 2012 champ Augustana (S.D.), which has fallen from No. 3 earlier this season to No. 14 after back-to-back defeats at the NSIC and Central Region Championships.

A trip to Spokane could be just what Augustana (S.D.) needs, as the Vikings claimed their 2011 National Championship there.

Edinboro moved up six spots back into the top 10 at No. 8 — its highest rank since USTFCCCA records began in 2009 — with an Atlantic Region title in a tight battle with No. 10 Mansfield, 81-89. That finish also propelled Mansfield to its first top-10 rank since the beginning of USTFCCCA records, up one spot from last time.

The biggest upward move in either the men’s or women’s polls came courtesy of No. 9 West Texas A&M, which jumped eight spots following a third-place finish in the South Central ahead of then top-10 teams in No. 12 Metro State and No. 16 UC-Colorado Springs.

Other significant moves outside the top 10 include four-spot increases for both No. 13 Southwest Baptist and No. 15 Hillsdale. Southwest Baptists’ rank is its highest since the beginning of USTFCCCA records.

Four teams joined the poll for the first time this season. No. 19 Seattle-Pacific, No. 21 Wingate, No. 24 Lewis and No. 25 Western Washington.

Wingate and Lewis are nationally ranked for the first time since the beginning of USTFCCCA records.



USTFCCCA NCAA DIVISION II
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL RANKINGS
2013 Week #7 — November 13
next release: none (final — NCAA DII Championships, November 23)

Rank Institution (FPV) Points Region Conference Head Coach (Yr*) Last
Week
1 Adams State (7) 199 South Central RMAC Damon Martin (19th) 2
2 Western State (1) 193 South Central RMAC Jennifer Michel (7th) 1
3 Grand Valley State 176 Midwest GLIAC Jerry Baltes (15th) 3
4 Chico State 175 West CCAA Gary Towne (18th) 4
5 Augustana (S.D.) 170 Central NSIC Tracy Hellman (13th) 6
6 Colorado Mines 164 South Central RMAC Chris Siemers (2nd) 5
7 Southern Indiana 154 Midwest GLVC Mike Hillyard (16th) 7
8 Lock Haven 145 Atlantic PSAC Aaron Russell (16th) 8
9 Edinboro 120 Atlantic PSAC Rick Hammer (1st) 14
10 Alaska Anchorage 119 West GNAC Michael Friess (24th) 9
11 Mount Olive 114 Southeast Conf. Carolinas Matt van Lierop (5th) 12
12 Central Missouri 109 Central MIAA Kirk Pedersen (27th) 11
13 Missouri Southern 94 Central MIAA Bryan Schiding (1st) 13
14 Metro State 91 South Central RMAC Nick Maas (1st) 18
15 West Texas A&M 82 South Central Lone Star Darren Flowers (5th) 10
16 Shippensburg 75 Atlantic PSAC Steve Spence (16th) 19
17 Cedarville 68 Midwest G-MAC Paul Orchard (11th) 20
18 Cal Poly Pomona 66 West CCAA Octavious Gillespie-Bennett (2nd) 21
19 Western Washington 52 West GNAC Pee Wee Halsell (27th) 16
20 Stonehill 48 East Northeast-10 Karen Boen (16th) 22
21 New Mexico Highlands 37 South Central RMAC Bob DeVries (22nd) 17
22 Neb.-Kearney 34 Central MIAA Brady Bonsall (7th) RV
23 Ferris State 30 Midwest GLIAC Steve Picucci (6th) NR
24 Franklin Pierce 27 East Northeast-10 Zach Emerson (2nd) 25
25 Sioux Falls 14 Central NSIC Grant Watley (2nd) 23
Also Receiving Votes: King 13, Cal Baptist 8, GRU Augusta 8, Ashland 7, Wilmington (Del.) 6, Florida Southern 1, Malone 1
Dropped Out: No. 15 Malone, No. 24 Ashland
(* 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 #7 — November 13
next release: none (final — NCAA DII Championships, November 23)

Rank Institution (FPV) Points Region Conference Head Coach (Yr*) Last
Week
1 Grand Valley State (7) 199 Midwest GLIAC Jerry Baltes (15th) 1
2 Adams State (1) 193 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) 4
5 Chico State 168 West CCAA Gary Towne (18th) 5
6 Simon Fraser 154 West GNAC Brit Townsend (14th) 6
7 Minnesota Duluth 145 Central NSIC Joanna Warmington (3rd) 8
8 Edinboro 136 Atlantic PSAC Rick Hammer (1st) 14
9 West Texas A&M 130 South Central Lone Star Kimberly Dudley (16th) 17
10 Mansfield 122 Atlantic PSAC Mike Rohl (11th) 11
11 Saginaw Valley State 117 Midwest GLIAC Rod Cowan (4th) 13
12 Metro State 108 South Central RMAC Nick Maas (1st) 7
13 Southwest Baptist 104 Central MIAA Corey McElhaney (6th) 17
14 Augustana (S.D.) 89 Central NSIC Tracy Hellman (13th) 12
15 Hillsdale 81 Midwest GLIAC Andrew Towne (3rd) 19
16 UC-Colorado Springs 75 South Central RMAC David Harmer (2nd) 9
17 Indiana (Pa.) 65 Atlantic PSAC Joey Zins (5th) 20
18 Shippensburg 55 Atlantic PSAC Steve Spence (16th) 16
19 Seattle Pacific 46 West GNAC Karl Lerum (1st) NR
20 Stonehill 45 East Northeast-10 Karen Boen (16th) 22
21 Wingate 41 Southeast SAC Joe Soehnlen (2nd) RV
21 Winona State 41 Central NSIC Brett Ayers (1st) 20
23 Tampa 39 South Sunshine Jarrett Slaven (15th) 23
24 Lewis 33 Midwest GLVC Dana Schwarting (8th) RV
25 Western Washington 17 West GNAC Pee Wee Halsell (27th) NR
Also Receiving Votes: Alabama-Huntsville 12, Tarleton State 9, Bentley 5, Colorado Mines 5, Seton Hill 3, Flagler 3
Dropped Out: No. 10 Southern Indiana, No. 15 Malone, No. 24 Cal State Stanislaus, No. 25 UW-Parkside
(* year as head coach of that team in women’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed)




U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
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New Orleans, LA 70163

Contact: Kyle Terwillegar
Communications Assistant
kyle@ustfccca.org
(504) 599-8905






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