Region Champs Among Good Company In Final NCAA DI Women’s XC Poll

By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA

November 14, 2016

NEW ORLEANS — Right now in NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country, there’s Colorado and then there is everybody else.

NCAA Division I National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
Colorado	NC State	Providence	Stanford	Michigan
View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

It was that way for Michigan State in 2014, Villanova in 2010, Washington in 2008 and Stanford in 2007, 2006 and 2004.
What do all of those teams have in common? They were all unanimous No. 1 selections in the Pre-Championship Edition of the National Coaches’ Polls.
The Buffs — who were ranked No. 1 in the most recent poll that was released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) — are in good company, too. Five of those six unanimous No. 1 teams won national titles at NCAAs, with the lone exception being the Cardinal in 2004.
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If you watched Colorado at all in its past two races — especially this past weekend at the Mountain Region Championships — there is little reason to doubt a third crown won’t be going back to Boulder on Saturday.
It was in Logan, Utah where the Buffs demolished a field with four other teams that were ranked in the Week 6 poll. Colorado put six runners in the top-12 (4-6-7-8-10-12) and scored the second fewest points in the past 12 years of the meet (35).
The Buffs are one of seven regional champs in the top-10 of this week’s poll.
No. 2 NC State notched an equally as dominant victory in the Southeast Region as it won by 110 points and packed up well behind individual runner-up Erika Kemp.
No. 3 Providence held off a game challenge from No. 17 Harvard in the Northeast Region as depth issues continue to rear their ugly heads.
No. 4 Stanford, led by a trio of talented freshmen, won its first West Region crown since 2007 after dispatching now-No. 7 Washington 71-88.
No. 5 Michigan won its fifth Great Lakes Region title in the past six years behind another individual victory by Erin Finn, who is the odds-on favorite at NCAAs.
No. 8 Penn State and No. 9 Arkansas both continued their strong seasons with titles in the Mid-Atlantic Region and South Central Region, respectively. The Razorbacks fell two spots in the poll from Week 6 to Week 7, however.
Well, that’s seven of the nine region winners. What about the other two?
Midwest Region champ Missouri toppled both Iowa State and Oklahoma State and was rewarded for its effort. The Karissa Schweizer-led Tigers went from receiving votes in Week 6 to No. 13 in Week 7. This is Missouri’s best billing in the poll since it was No. 9 in 2004 under former head coach Rebecca Wilmes.
South Region champ Mississippi State trumped Ole Miss in Tallahassee, Florida and leapfrogged its rival. The Bulldogs return to the poll for the first time since Week 5 and are ranked No. 19.
Some other movers and shakers in the Pre-Championship Edition were San Francisco (No. 16 to No. 10), Air Force (No. 29 to No. 20) and Wisconsin (NR to No. 25).
We’ll see all of those teams — and many more — at the 2016 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana on Saturday.
Be sure to check back throughout this week as we preview NCAAs and bring you coverage from The Hooiser State.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I
Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll
2016 Week #7 — November 14
Next poll: (none, NCAA Championships: November 19)

Rank	Institution (FPV)	Points	Record^	Conference	*Cross Country Coach (Yr)**	Last Week
1	Colorado (12)	360	71-0 (17-0)	Pac-12 (1)	Mark Wetmore (22nd)	1
2	NC State	343	105-2 (25-2)	ACC (1)	Laurie Henes (11th)	2
3	Providence	335	106-2 (27-2)	Big East (1)	Ray Treacy (33rd)	3
4	Stanford	315	84-7 (11-7)	Pac-12 (3)	Elizabeth DeBole (1st)	7
5	Michigan	314	143-7 (16-6)	Big Ten (1)	Mike McGuire (25th)	5
6	New Mexico	291	74-7 (24-7)	Mountain West (1)	Joe Franklin (10th)	6
7	Washington	285	85-2 (26-2)	Pac-12 (2)	Greg Metcalf (15th)	4
8	Penn State	281	95-3 (13-3)	Big Ten (2)	John Gondak (3rd)	9
9	Arkansas	278	95-4 (7-4)	SEC (1)	Lance Harter (27th)	7
10	San Francisco	228	93-14 (16-13)	West Coast (3)	Helen Lehman-Winters (14th)	16
11	Notre Dame	225	90-17 (13-17)	ACC (2)	Matt Sparks (3rd)	14
12	Oregon	223	87-8 (12-8)	Pac-12 (4)	Robert Johnson (5th)	11
13	Missouri	190	106-18 (3-13)	SEC (3)	Marc Burns (3rd)	RV
14	Portland	188	112-7 (14-7)	West Coast (1)	Ian Solof (15th)	10
15	Oklahoma State	169	59-5 (5-3)	Big 12 (2)	Dave Smith (8th)	17
16	Iowa State	168	82-23 (13-14)	Big 12 (1)	Andrea Grove-McDonough (4th)	12
17	Harvard	161	64-18 (6-17)	Ivy (1)	Jason Saretsky (11th)	18
18	Villanova	139	85-19 (7-17)	Big East (2)	Gina Procaccio (17th)	21
19	Mississippi State	127	116-23 (4-16)	SEC (4)	Houston Franks (8th)	RV
20	Air Force	120	69-22 (2-21)	Mountain West (2)	Ryan Cole (3rd)	29
21	Mississippi	111	76-9 (6-8)	SEC (2)	Ryan Vanhoy (4th)	14
22	Michigan State	108	93-24 (9-21)	Big Ten (3)	Walt Drenth (13th)	22
23	Baylor	102	82-17 (19-12)	Big 12 (5)	Todd Harbour (17th)	25
24	Eastern Michigan	91	117-15 (10-13)	Mid-American (1)	Sue Parks (11th)	13
25	Wisconsin	82	51-28 (2-24)	Big Ten (6)	Mick Byrne (3rd)	NR
26	Yale	80	105-13 (11-13)	Ivy (2)	Amy Gosztyla (6th)	23
27	Utah	77	72-18 (17-18)	Pac-12 (5)	Kyle Kepler (12th)	20
28	BYU	75	58-14 (9-14)	West Coast (2)	Diljeet Taylor (1st)	18
29	Penn	60	82-20 (7-18)	Ivy (3)	Steve Dolan (5th)	24
30	UCLA	28	80-29 (8-28)	Pac-12 (7)	Mike Maynard (5th)	RV
Others Receiving Votes: Louisville 15, West Virginia 7, Dartmouth 1, Kentucky 1
Dropped out: No. 26 Minnesota, No. 27 West Virginia, No. 27 California, No. 29 SMU
^ Win-loss record reflective of results in varsity competition of races 4500 meters or longer versus DI opponents starting September 9; records in () are results against ranked teams.
( year as effective coach of that team in women’s cross country), CR – Coaches’ Regional Ranking*