THE CONNING TOWER by Keith Conning: Griak Results Alter NCAA DII Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Griak Results Alter NCAA DII Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA

September 28, 2016

NEW ORLEANS – The Roy Griak Invitational turned out to be a proving ground for NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country teams, as several teams made big moves – for better or for worse – in the newest National Coaches’ Poll.
While meet champion No. 4 U-Mary didn’t get a bump in the poll announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the top-15 was littered with teams who impressed at the Les Bolstad Golf Course.
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NCAA Division II National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Women
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
GVSU	Adams State	Chico State	U-Mary	Western State
View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

U-Mary was part of a completely stationary top five, still headed by No. 1 Grand Valley State with five of the eight first-place votes. Defending national champion No. 2 Adams State, No. 3 Chico State, U-Mary and No. 5 Western State rounded out the top five.
The highest-ranked mover was runner-up Minnesota Duluth, which improved three spots to No. 6 after a narrow two-point loss to U-Mary, 93-95. The Bulldogs were marginally better than the Marauders through three runners, 27-28, but U-Mary was just a touch stronger in the back two-fifths of its scoring lineup, 65-68.
This is already the second time the two teams have met this season, with potentially three more showdowns slated for the postseason at the NSIC, Central Region and NCAA championships.
No. 11 Northern Michigan jumped up six spots with its third-place effort, rebounding from a sluggish performance at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational earlier this month.
Another pair of teams made their 2016 National Coaches’ Poll top-25 debuts off the strength of their respective fourth- and fifth-place finishes at Griak: No. 14 UC-Colorado Springs and No. 15 UC San Diego.
Those two came in just ahead of No. 16 Western Washington – a team that disappointed with a sixth-place finish at Griak and dropped eight spots from last time as a result.
With Western Washington dropping out of the top-10, that opened the door for Cedarville to break into the top-10 for the first time in program history at No. 10.
No. 21 Pittsburg State also joined the poll with its seventh-place effort in Minnesota. This is the Gorillas’ first top-25 appearance since late in 2013.
See the full 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.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division II
Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll
2016 Week #3 — September 28
next poll: October 5

Rank	Institution (FPV)	Points	Region (CR)	Conference	*Head Coach (Yr)**	Last Week
1	Grand Valley State (5)	197	Midwest (1)	GLIAC	Jerry Baltes (18th)	1
2	Adams State (3)	195	South Central (1)	RMAC	Damon Martin (29th)	2
3	Chico State	183	West (1)	CCAA	Gary Towne (21st)	3
4	U-Mary	174	Central (1)	NSIC	Dennis Newell (11th)	4
5	Western State	166	South Central (2)	RMAC	Jennifer Michel (10th)	5
6	Minnesota Duluth	159	Central (2)	NSIC	Joanna Warmington (6th)	9
7	Southern Indiana	155	Midwest (2)	GLVC	Mike Hillyard (20th)	6
8	Hillsdale	146	Midwest (3)	GLIAC	Andrew Towne (6th)	7
9	Stonehill	135	East (1)	Northeast-10	Karen Boen (19th)	10
10	Cedarville	121	Midwest (4)	G-MAC	Jeff Bolender (7th)	11
11	Northern Michigan	117	Midwest (5)	GLIAC	Jenny Ryan (10th)	17
12	Cal Baptist	110	West (2)	PacWest	Ben Gall (5th)	13
13	Augustana (S.D.)	106	Central (3)	NSIC	Tracy Hellman (16th)	12
14	UC-Colorado Springs	98	South Central (3)	RMAC	Corey Kubatzky (2nd)	NR
15	UC San Diego	86	West (3)	CCAA	Nate Garcia (10th)	RV
16	Western Washington	74	West (4)	GNAC	Pee Wee Halsell (30th)	8
17	Dallas Baptist	69	South Central (4)	Heartland	Jacob Phillips (12th)	14
18	Malone	56	Midwest (6)	G-MAC	Jack Hazen (26th)	15
19	Seattle Pacific	50	West (5)	GNAC	Karl Lerum (4th)	18
20	Montevallo	44	Southeast (1)	Peach Belt	Julia Marquardt (4th)	19
21	Pittsburg State	40	Central (4)	MIAA	Russ Jewett (31st)	RV
22	Colorado Mines	35	South Central (5)	RMAC	Chris Siemers (5th)	21
23	Bloomsburg	32	Atlantic (1)	PSAC	Bernie Empie (8th)	19
24	Shippensburg	18	Atlantic (2)	PSAC	Steve Spence (19th)	22
25	Lewis	15	Midwest (7)	GLVC	James Kearney (3rd)	23
Also Receiving Votes: Alaska Anchorage 12, Queens (N.C.) 5, Saint Leo 2
Dropped Out: No. 16 Winona State, No. 24 Alaska Anchorage, No. 25 Queens (N.C.)
(* year as head coach of that team in women’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed)