Griak Causes Movement in Newest NCAA DII Regional Rankings

By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA

September 27, 2016   

NEW ORLEANS – No new top-ranked teams emerged in the week three edition of the NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Rankings, but a few teams better positioned themselves for runs at NCAA Championships qualifying.
A trio of women’s teams and one more men’s squad moved into “qualifying territory” within their respective regions in the rankings announced Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), while several other moved onto the bubble.
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UC-Colorado Springs jumped to No. 3 in the South Central, Pittsburg State rose to No. 4 in the Central, and Northern Michigan climbed to No. 5 in the Midwest.
For the men, Black Hills State moved to No. 5 in the South Central.
Each region is allotted a certain number of team qualifiers (listed in the tables below) to the NCAA Championships in Saint Leo, Florida, on November 19. Those qualifiers from each region are determined based on the results of regional championships weekend on November 5-6.
All four teams benefitted from strong showings at the Roy Griak Invitational. NMU finished third overall while UCCS was fourth. Pittsburg State finished seventh after taking down regional foe Winona State (13th).
In the men’s race, Black Hills State finished third.
Griak also affected the women’s West’s rankings order, though it didn’t result in any new teams moving into qualifying territory. UC San Diego moved up to No. 3 in the region after finishing fifth, while Western Washington dropped two spots to No. 4 after taking sixth.
Beyond Black Hills State, all was relatively steady in the men’s rankings; no new No. 1 teams ascended to the tops of their regions and no other new teams advanced into qualifying territory.
Behind National Athlete of the Week Ronald Cheserek, Saint Leo moved onto the bubble at No. 4 in the three-bid South Region. The Lions won the non-DI competition at Florida’s Mountain Dew Gator Invitational. The NCAA Championships will be held on Saint Leo’s home course.
See the full rankings below.
he United States (as well as Canada and Puerto Rico) is split into eight distinct regions for both the men and the women, combining for 16 total. Teams qualify to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on November 19 based on their finishes at these regional championships on November 5-6, with each region allotted a specific number of NCAA Championship berths based on 2015 results.
These rankings aim to predict how teams will fare within those regional championship races. They are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining predicted team finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division II
Men’s Cross Country Regional Team Rankings
2016 Week #3 — September 27
national poll release: September 28
next regional release: October 4
ATLANTIC Region (4 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Shippensburg	Shippensburg, Pa.	PSAC	1
2	Lock Haven	Lock Haven, Pa.	PSAC	2
3	Edinboro	Edinboro, Pa.	PSAC	3
4	Bloomsburg	Bloomsburg, Pa.	PSAC	4
5	Kutztown	Kutztown, Pa.	PSAC	5
6	Concord	Concord, W. Va.	Mountain East	10
7	Charleston (W.Va.)	Charleston, W.Va.	Mountain East	NR
8	East Stroudsburg	East Stroudsburg, Pa.	PSAC	6
9	Slippery Rock	Slippery Rock, Pa.	PSAC	8
10	West Virginia Wesleyan	Buckhannon, W.Va.	Mountain East	9
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Shippensburg, 2014: Lock Haven, 2013: Lock Haven, 2012: Edinboro, 2011: Edinboro
CENTRAL Region (4 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Augustana (S.D.)	Sioux Falls, S.D.	NSIC	1
2	Missouri Southern	Joplin, Mo.	MIAA	3
3	MSU Moorhead	Moorhead, Minn.	NSIC	2
4	Harding	Searcy, Ark.	Great American	4
5	Fort Hays State	Hays, Kan.	MIAA	5
6	East Central (Okla.)	Ada, Okla.	Great American	6
7	Northwest Missouri	Maryville, Mo.	MIAA	7
8	Southwest Baptist	Bolivar, Mo.	MIAA	9
9	Pittsburg State	Pittsburg, Kan.	MIAA	10
10	Lindenwood	St. Charles, Mo.	MIAA	NR
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Augustana (S.D.), 2014: Augustana (S.D.), 2013: Augustana (S.D.), 2012: Augustana (S.D.), 2011: Adams State
EAST Region (3 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	American International	Springfield, Mass.	Northeast-10	1
2	Bentley	Waltham, Mass.	Northeast-10	3
3	Stonehill	Easton, Mass.	Northeast-10	2
4	Southern New Hampshire	Manchester, N.H.	Northeast-10	4
5	Adelphi	Garden City, N.Y.	Northeast-10	5
6	Roberts Wesleyan	Chili, N.Y.	East Coast	8
7	Franklin Pierce	Rindge, N.H.	Northeast-10	7
8	Wilmington (Del.)	New Castle, Del.	CACC	6
9	Merrimack	North Andover, Mass.	Northeast-10	9
10	Le Moyne	Syracuse, N.Y.	Northeast-10	10
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: American International, 2014: American International, 2013: Stonehill, 2012: American International, 2011: UMass Lowell
MIDWEST Region (5 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Grand Valley State	Allendale, Mich.	GLIAC	1
2	Hillsdale	Hillsdale, Mich.	GLIAC	2
3	Southern Indiana	Evansville, Ind.	GLVC	3
4	Saginaw Valley State	Bay City, Mich.	GLIAC	4
5	Bellarmine	Louisville, Ky.	GLVC	5
6	Walsh	North Canton, Ohio	GLIAC	6
7	Lewis	Romeoville, Ill.	GLVC	8
8	UW-Parkside	Kenosha, Wis.	GLVC	7
9	Ashland	Ashland, Ohio	GLIAC	9
10	Ferris State	Big Rapids, Mich.	GLIAC	10
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Grand Valley State, 2014: Grand Valley State, 2013: Grand Valley State, 2012: Grand Valley State, 2011: Grand Valley State
SOUTH Region (3 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Lee (Tenn.)	Cleveland, Tenn.	Gulf South	1
2	Florida Southern	Lakeland, Fla.	Sunshine	2
3	Alabama-Huntsville	Huntsville, Ala.	Gulf South	3
4	Saint Leo	Saint Leo, Fla.	Sunshine	5
5	Nova Southeastern	Davie, Fla.	Sunshine	4
6	North Alabama	Florence, Ala.	Gulf South	7
7	West Alabama	Livingston, Ala.	Gulf South	6
8	Tampa	Tampa, Fla.	Sunshine	8
9	West Florida	Pensacola, Fla.	Gulf South	9
10	Florida Tech	Melbourne, Fla.	Sunshine	NR
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Saint Leo, 2014: Florida Southern, 2013: Florida Southern, 2012: Nova Southeastern, 2011: Alabama-Huntsville
SOUTH CENTRAL Region (5 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Colorado Mines	Golden, Colo.	RMAC	1
2	Adams State	Alamosa, Colo.	RMAC	2
3	Western State	Gunnison, Colo.	RMAC	3
4	CSU-Pueblo	Pueblo, Colo.	RMAC	4
5	Black Hills State	Spearfish, S.D.	RMAC	6
6	West Texas A&M	Canyon, Texas	Lone Star	5
7	Dallas Baptist	Dallas, Texas	Heartland Conference	7
8	UC-Colorado Springs	Colorado Springs, Colo.	RMAC	9
9	Metro State	Denver, Colo.	RMAC	10
10	Newman	Wichita, Kan.	Heartland Conference	NR
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Adams State, 2014: Adams State, 2013: Adams State, 2012: Adams State, 2011: Eastern New Mexico
SOUTHEAST Region (3 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Mount Olive	Mount Olive, N.C.	Conf. Carolinas	1
2	Queens (N.C.)	Charlotte, N.C.	SAC	2
3	Mars Hill	Mars Hill, N.C.	SAC	3
4	Augusta	Augusta, Ga.	Peach Belt	4
5	Flagler	St. Augustine, Fla.	Peach Belt	5
6	Anderson (S.C.)	Anderson, S.C.	SAC	6
7	Montevallo	Montevallo, Ala.	Peach Belt	7
8	UNC Pembroke	Pembroke, N.C.	Peach Belt	8
9	Columbus State	Columbus, Ga.	Peach Belt	9
10	Young Harris	Young Harris, Ga.	Peach Belt	10
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Mount Olive, 2014: Mars Hill, 2013: Mount Olive, 2012: Columbus State, 2011: Queens (N.C.)
WEST Region (5 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Chico State	Chico, Calif.	CCAA	1
2	Cal Poly Pomona	Pomona, Calif.	CCAA	2
3	Alaska Anchorage	Anchorage, Alaska	GNAC	3
4	UC San Diego	La Jolla, Calif.	CCAA	5
5	Western Washington	Bellingham, Wash.	GNAC	4
6	Cal Baptist	Riverside, Calif.	PacWest	6
7	Simon Fraser	Burnaby, B.C.	GNAC	7
8	Academy of Art	San Francisco, Calif.	PacWest	8
9	SF State	San Francisco, Calif.	CCAA	9
10	Western Oregon	Monmouth, Ore.	GNAC	10
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Alaska Anchorage, 2014: Chico State, 2013: Chico State, 2012: Chico State, 2011: Alaska Anchorage

USTFCCCA NCAA Division II
Women’s Cross Country Regional Team Rankings
2016 Week #3 — September 27
national poll release: September 28
next regional release: October 4
ATLANTIC Region (3 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Bloomsburg	Bloomsburg, Pa.	PSAC	1
2	Shippensburg	Shippensburg, Pa.	PSAC	2
3	Seton Hill	Greensburg, Pa.	PSAC	3
4	East Stroudsburg	East Stroudsburg, Pa.	PSAC	4
5	California (Pa.)	California, Pa.	PSAC	5
6	Edinboro	Edinboro, Pa.	PSAC	6
7	Lock Haven	Lock Haven, Pa.	PSAC	7
8	Kutztown	Kutztown, Pa.	PSAC	8
9	Slippery Rock	Slippery Rock, Pa.	PSAC	9
10	Mercyhurst	Erie, Pa.	PSAC	10
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: California (Pa.), 2014: Edinboro, 2013: Edinboro, 2012: Shippensburg, 2011: Shippensburg
CENTRAL Region (4 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	U-Mary	Bismarck, N.D.	NSIC	1
2	Minnesota Duluth	Duluth, Minn.	NSIC	2
3	Augustana (S.D.)	Sioux Falls, S.D.	NSIC	3
4	Pittsburg State	Pittsburg, Kan.	MIAA	5
5	Southwest Baptist	Bolivar, Mo.	MIAA	6
6	Fort Hays State	Hays, Kan.	MIAA	7
7	MSU Moorhead	Moorhead, Minn.	NSIC	NR
8	Harding	Searcy, Ark.	Great American	8
9	Missouri Southern	Joplin, Mo.	MIAA	9
10	Winona State	Winona, Minn.	NSIC	4
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Southwest Baptist, 2014: Minnesota Duluth, 2013: Minnesota Duluth, 2012: Augustana (S.D.), 2011: Western State
EAST Region (3 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Stonehill	Easton, Mass.	Northeast-10	1
2	Assumption	Worcester, Mass.	Northeast-10	2
3	Roberts Wesleyan	Chili, N.Y.	East Coast	3
4	Daemen	Amherst, N.Y.	East Coast	4
5	Merrimack	North Andover, Mass.	Northeast-10	5
6	Bentley	Waltham, Mass.	Northeast-10	6
7	Le Moyne	Syracuse, N.Y.	Northeast-10	7
8	St. Thomas Aquinas	Sparkill, N.Y.	East Coast	8
9	Adelphi	Garden City, N.Y.	Northeast-10	9
10	Saint Rose	Albany, N.Y.	Northeast-10	10
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Stonehill, 2014: Roberts Wesleyan, 2013: Stonehill, 2012: Stonehill, 2011: Stonehill
MIDWEST Region (5 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Grand Valley State	Allendale, Mich.	GLIAC	1
2	Southern Indiana	Evansville, Ind.	GLVC	2
3	Hillsdale	Hillsdale, Mich.	GLIAC	3
4	Cedarville	Cedarville, Ohio	G-MAC	4
5	Northern Michigan	Marquette, Mich.	GLIAC	6
6	Malone	Canton, Ohio	G-MAC	5
7	Lewis	Romeoville, Ill.	GLVC	7
8	Walsh	North Canton, Ohio	GLIAC	8
9	UW-Parkside	Kenosha, Wis.	GLVC	9
10	Bellarmine	Louisville, Ky.	GLVC	10
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Grand Valley State, 2014: Grand Valley State, 2013: Grand Valley State, 2012: Grand Valley State, 2011: Grand Valley State
SOUTH Region (3 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Saint Leo	Saint Leo, Fla.	Sunshine	1
2	Lee (Tenn.)	Cleveland, Tenn.	Gulf South	2
3	Union (Tenn.)	Jackson, Tenn.	Gulf South	3
4	Tampa	Tampa, Fla.	Sunshine	4
5	West Alabama	Livingston, Ala.	Gulf South	5
6	North Alabama	Florence, Ala.	Gulf South	6
7	Alabama-Huntsville	Huntsville, Ala.	Gulf South	7
8	Palm Beach Atlantic	West Palm Beach, Fla.	Independent (DII)	NR
9	Florida Tech	Melbourne, Fla.	Sunshine	10
10	West Florida	Pensacola, Fla.	Gulf South	NR
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Tampa, 2014: Tampa, 2013: Tampa, 2012: Tampa, 2011: Tampa
SOUTH CENTRAL Region (5 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Adams State	Alamosa, Colo.	RMAC	1
2	Western State	Gunnison, Colo.	RMAC	2
3	UC-Colorado Springs	Colorado Springs, Colo.	RMAC	6
4	Dallas Baptist	Dallas, Texas	Heartland Conference	3
5	Colorado Mines	Golden, Colo.	RMAC	4
6	Fort Lewis	Durango, Colo.	RMAC	5
7	CSU-Pueblo	Pueblo, Colo.	RMAC	7
8	Colorado Christian	Lakewood, Colo.	RMAC	8
9	Black Hills State	Spearfish, S.D.	RMAC	NR
10	Midwestern State	Wichita Falls, Texas	Lone Star	9
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Adams State, 2014: Adams State, 2013: Adams State, 2012: Adams State, 2011: Midwestern State
SOUTHEAST Region (3 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Montevallo	Montevallo, Ala.	Peach Belt	1
2	Queens (N.C.)	Charlotte, N.C.	SAC	2
3	North Georgia	Dahlonega, Ga.	Peach Belt	3
4	Anderson (S.C.)	Anderson, S.C.	SAC	4
5	Wingate	Wingate, N.C.	SAC	5
6	Mount Olive	Mount Olive, N.C.	Conf. Carolinas	6
7	Augusta	Augusta, Ga.	Peach Belt	7
8	UNC Pembroke	Pembroke, N.C.	Peach Belt	NR
9	Georgia College	Milledgeville, Ga.	Peach Belt	8
10	Flagler	St. Augustine, Fla.	Peach Belt	9
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Montevallo, 2014: Montevallo, 2013: Wingate, 2012: Columbus State, 2011: Queens (N.C.)
WEST Region (6 Auto Quals)
Rank	School	Location	Conference	Last Week
1	Chico State	Chico, Calif.	CCAA	1
2	Cal Baptist	Riverside, Calif.	PacWest	3
3	UC San Diego	La Jolla, Calif.	CCAA	5
4	Western Washington	Bellingham, Wash.	GNAC	2
5	Seattle Pacific	Seattle, Wash.	GNAC	4
6	Alaska Anchorage	Anchorage, Alaska	GNAC	6
7	Point Loma Nazarene	San Diego, Calif.	PacWest	7
8	Simon Fraser	Burnaby, B.C.	GNAC	8
9	Humboldt State	Arcata, Calif.	CCAA	9
10	Cal Poly Pomona	Pomona, Calif.	CCAA	10
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2015: Chico State, 2014: Simon Fraser, 2013: Alaska Anchorage, 2012: Chico State, 2011: Alaska Anchorage

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