USTFCCCA Polls & Rankings
2017 NCAA DI Cross Country Men’s Region Rankings – Preseason
NEW ORLEANS – Cross country is back!With the new season starting it up, it’s time to check out the NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Regional Team Rankings.
Regional Rankings Summary PDF
Regional Rankings – All-Time Week By Week
For those who don’t know, the USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings 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.
This year the NCAA Division I Regional Championships will be held across the nation on Friday, November 10.
Great Lakes Region
The demise of Wisconsin was greatly exaggerated.After missing NCAAs in 2015, the top-ranked Badgers finished eighth last year and return all but one of those athletes who helped them accomplish that feat. Morgan McDonald will pace them and the addition of three talented freshmen is only going to help.
Eastern Michigan comes in at No. 2 and while the team lost its No. 1 runner from the regional meet last year, Owen Day, Job Togom and Hunter Moore come to the rescue.
Michigan State finished runner-up to Wisconsin at the 2016 Regional Championship and sits at No. 3 now. The Spartans lost a few runners, but add Brayden Law (21st at 2015 Foot Locker) and could welcome Justine Kiprotich (2017 NCAA 1500-meter runner-up) into the mix.
Michigan and Indiana come in at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
Mid-Atlantic Region
Georgetown has won four of the past six titles in this region and is favored again. The top-ranked Hoyas return four of its seven runners from NCAAs last year, all of whom are either sophomores or juniors.No. 2 Navy will have to rebuild after losing a bunch of runners to graduation, including Lucas Stalnaker (88th overall at NCAAs last year).
No. 3 Princeton is in the same boat as the Midshipmen, as is No. 4 Penn.
No. 5 Penn State rounds out the top-5.
Midwest Region
If you named the past four champs in the Midwest Region, it might get repetitive – that’s because Oklahoma State put a stranglehold on the No. 1 spot. And that’s where the Cowboys are going to start the 2017 season as well.No. 2 Iowa State capped last season with a 16th place showing at NCAAs and will hope to build on that this season. The Cyclones return Thomas Pollard (45th at NCAAs in 2016) and Dan Curts (99th at NCAAs) as well as four other athletes who competed in Terre Haute.
Illinois also made it to NCAAs as a team last year and comes in ranked No. 3. The top returner for the Illini is Jonathan Davis (80th in 2016) and they’ll be looking for some fresh faces.
Tulsa is ranked No. 4, followed by No. 5 Minnesota.
Mountain Region
Three teams from this region finished at the top-10 in Terre Haute last year: Northern Arizona (champion), Colorado (sixth) and BYU (seventh).The reigning champion Lumberjacks are ranked No. 1 in the region and justifiably so. NAU has five runners coming back from its championship team led by Matthew Baxter (11th).
The Buffs are ranked No. 2 and have six of their seven back from last year’s NCAA team. Colorado should be led by the young duo of Joe Klecker and John Dressel, both of whom were All-Americans last year.
The Cougars, who are ranked third, have five runners back from their lineup last year. Rory Linkletter should be the one across the line first in most of their races.
No. 4 Southern Utah returns a full roster and No. 5 Colorado State has five back.
Northeast Region
Syracuse is the favorite to win the region once again as it returns its top-4 runners from last year’s third-place team at NCAAs. The Orange will look toward NCAA individual runner-up Justyn Knight and Colin Bennie to lead the way.Iona is ranked No. 2 and has six of its top-7 runners returning. The Gaels put three runners in the top-100 of NCAAs last year led by Chartt Miller (64th) and Gilbert Kirui (87th).
Columbia is No. 3 and welcomes back two individual NCAA qualifiers. The Lions should have a strong pack behind Brian Zabilski and Kenny Vasbinder.
No. 4 Providence and No. 5 Brown round out the top-5 in this region.
South Region
Ole Miss, the surprise of the 2016 season, is ranked No.1 in the region even though it lost four of its top-5 runners. Sean Tobin is the top-finishing returner (62nd) and there are three talented recruits ready to make some noise on the course.Middle Tennessee State starts the season ranked No. 2 in the region and for good reason. The Blue Raiders return their entire top-5. Jacob Choge was an All-American last year.
Georgia is No. 3, but the team to look out for is Alabama at No. 4. The Crimson Tide brought in a huge recruiting class headlined by NCAA Division II XC champ Vincent Kiprop and NJCAA XC champ Gilbert Kigen.
No. 5 Florida State will look to establish a few leaders.
South Central Region
Top-ranked Arkansas finished fifth at NCAAs last year and welcome back six of those seven runners who helped make that happen. Jack Bruce and Alex George were both All-Americans and Cameron Griffith finished right outside of consideration at 48th.No. 2 Texas is going to be buoyed by a strong freshman class that includes Sam Worley (ninth at Foot Locker) and Connor O’Neill (24th at NXN).
No. 3 UT-Arlington had an individual qualifier at NCAAs last year and will look to send a few more runners – maybe even the team – this year. The Mavericks hauled in transfers Brady Steele from Memphis and Eduardo Trevizo from Texas Tech.
Two other teams from the Lone Star State round out the top-5: No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Baylor.
Southeast Region
Furman might have finished third in this region last year, but there are big things brewing down in Greenville, South Carolina. The Paladins are ranked No. 1 and will be led by Frank Lara, who finished 83rd at NCAAs in 2016.Virginia comes in at No. 2 and it returns a healthy number of athletes from its team that was 18th at NCAAs last year. The Cavaliers will look for Brent Demarest to carry the heavy lifting.
Virginia Tech is ranked No. 3 and had a huge track season with its mid-distance runners. The Hokies have five of their top-7 runners coming back and a national ranking might follow suit.
Rounding out the top-5 in the preseason are No. 4 NC State and No. 5 Kentucky.
West Region
Seven teams from this region made it to NCAAs last year: seven!The top-ranked Stanford Cardinal finished national runner-up to Northern Arizona. Stanford has five of its top-7 runners back including Grant Fisher (2017 NCAA Outdoor 5000 champ) and Steven Fahy (59th at NCAAs last year).
Oregon comes in at No. 2 and has four of its top-5 back. That lone Duck not returning to the flock is none other than Edward Cheserek. Oregon will have Matthew Maton (29th) and Tanner Anderson (68th) ready to lead the charge.
No. 3 Washington State returns a bushel of experience as six of their top-7 runners from the 14th-place team at NCAAs are back. Michael Williams was a surprise All-American last year and finished 30th.
Both No. 4 Portland and No. 5 UCLA have solid depth and will make strong pushes in the region and to making the NCAA meet.
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