NCAA DI Men’s Regional Rankings Undergo Major Overhaul

By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA

October 19, 2015

How will today’s new Regional Rankings affect the Week Five National Coaches’ Polls?
Find out in a LIVE podcast unveiling of the polls Tuesday at noon ET on USTFCCCA.org.

NEW ORLEANS – How drastically did this weekend’s action, including the loaded Wisconsin adidas and Pre-National invitationals, impact the week five edition of the men’s NCAA Division I Cross Country Regional Rankings announced Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)?
The long answer:

Three regions saw preseason national top-10 teams drop out of automatic qualifying position
Six new teams moved into position to grab one of their region’s two automatic berths into the NCAA Championships on November 21 in Louisville (to be determined on the course at regional championships on November 13)
One region crowned a new No. 1
15 teams moved up or down four spots or more from last time.

The short answer: Quite drastically.
And the aftershock of these changes will continue to reverberate through Tuesday’s release of the National Coaches’ Polls – revealed via live podcast on USTFCCCA.org at noon ET.
Regional Rankings Summary PDF | Division I XC Rankings Central | All-Time (2010-)
Quick Links: Men’s Rankings | Women’s Rankings
Join Us Every Tuesday at Noon ET For The National Coaches’ Poll Unveiling
After disappointing weekends for varying reasons, Stanford, Wisconsin and Villanova – each of which were ranked top-10 in the preseason National Coaches’ Polls – all find themselves in unfamiliar territory at the regional level.
Stanford, widely hailed as the biggest threat to two-time defending national champion Colorado, finished 21st at Wisconsin to fall from No. 2 in the West Region to No. 7 – its lowest rank since week four of the 2013 season. The Cardinal got a third-place finish from Sean McGorty this weekend and Garrett Sweatt was 25th, but key contributors in Jack Keelan (95th) and All-American Sam Wharton (200th) both struggled.
Stanford once again ran without the All-American Rosa brothers Jim and Joe, as well as frosh phenom Grant Fisher. A more complete line-up is expected for the Pac-12 Championships at the end of the month.
Notably, Stanford ultimately ended up winning the West in 2013 after fall to No. 7 in the Regional Rankings.
Filling the void in the West left by the Cardinal’s drop were new No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 Boise State, both of which moved up two spots after impressive ninth- and 11th-place finishes at Wisconsin. Also notable from the West were Portland’s two-spot improvement to No. 6 and UC Santa Barbara’s five-spot jump to No. 8.
Suffering an equally disappointing loss at the adidas Invitational was host Wisconsin, which finished 17th overall to drop to No. 4 in the Great Lakes Region from No. 2 in the previous rankings. The Badgers got a pair of top-10 finishes from Malachy Schrobilgen and Morgan McDonald, but only one other UW runner – Russell Sandvold in 80th – placed among the top 150 individual finishers. Only five Badgers crossed the line on Friday.
The USTFCCCA archive of Regional Rankings dates back to 2010, during which time the Badgers have never been ranked this low. In fact, one has to go all the way back to 2001 to find Wisconsin’s most recent fourth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional. Only nine times since 1972 have the Badgers finished outside the top-two at the Great Lakes Regional.
Moving up in Wisconsin’s stead were No. 2 Michigan State and No. 3 Indiana, which finished 12th and 16th at Wisco.
Villanova, previously ranked No. 7 nationally in the preseason, suffered its second upset loss of the season at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday, losing to Penn, 42-51, despite the trio of Patrick Tiernan, Jordy Williamsz and Robert Denault sweeping the top three individual spots. Penn got six runners across the line before Nova’s fourth man came in.
Consequently, Penn moved up four spots to No. 2 in the Mid-Atlantic Region – its highest rank in the USTFCCCA archives – while Villanova dropped to No. 3, its lowest spot since 2013.
Florida State moved to No. 1 in the South Region to headline six teams that moved into their respective regions’ automatic qualifying positions – alongside the aforementioned UCLA, Michigan State and Penn squads.
FSU finished 18th at Wisconsin with its full squad for the first time this season, while former South favorite Ole Miss disappointed with a 24th-place finish to drop to No. 2.
In the Southeast Region, Furman finished sixth at the Wisconsin adidas Invite by a single point over regional rival NC State, 310-311, to sneak into the No. 2 spot just ahead of the Wolfpack.
Directly behind those two squads in the Wisconsin standings in eighth place was Tulsa. Led by individual winner Marc Scott, the Golden Hurricane jumped two spots to No. 2 in the Midwest Region after defeating former No. 2 Oklahoma and former No. 3 Iowa State head-to-head. Those two moved to No. 4 and No. 7 respectively, replaced by Tulsa and new No. 3 Illinois.
Making the biggest impressions of the weekend were Pittsburgh (up six spots to No. 9 in the Mid-Atlantic) and LSU (unranked to No. 9 in the South Central). South Dakota State (Central), UMass Lowell (Northeast) and UC Santa Barbara (West) all moved up five spots from last time.
Joining the rankings this week were Butler and Ohio from the Great Lakes; Iowa and Eastern Illinois in the Midwest; LSU and UTSA in the South Central; and San Jose State in the West.
NCAA Division I Regional Championships will be held around the country on Friday, November 13 with the national meet occurring eight days later in Louisville, Kentucky.
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.

WOMEN’S REGIONAL RANKINGS & RECAP HERE

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I
Men’s Cross Country Regional Team Rankings
2015 Week #5 — October 19 (pre-conference)
national poll release: October 20
next regional release: November 2
RAOR = Record against own region (since September 25, reported to TFRRS)
GREAT LAKES Region
Rank	School	Overall (RAOR)	Conference	Last Week
1	Michigan	52-3 (5-0)	Big Ten	1
2	Michigan State	45-11 (5-1)	Big Ten	3
3	Indiana	29-15 (2-2)	Big Ten	4
4	Wisconsin	33-22 (1-4)	Big Ten	2
5	Eastern Michigan	41-19 (9-1)	Mid-American	6
6	Purdue	55-25 (9-1)	Big Ten	5
7	Ohio State	30-20 (13-2)	Big Ten	7
8	Notre Dame	19-35 (2-6)	ACC	8
9	Akron	27-23 (11-4)	Mid-American	10
10	IUPUI	16-44 (3-7)	Summit League	9
11	Butler	14-55 (3-6)	Big East	NR
12	Miami (Ohio)	27-10 (13-2)	Mid-American	12
13	Indiana State	7-53 (0-10)	Missouri Valley	11
14	Ohio	23-14 (10-5)	Mid-American	NR
15	Central Michigan	23-26 (5-3)	Mid-American	13
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2014: Wisconsin, 2013: Michigan, 2012: Wisconsin, 2011: Wisconsin, 2010: Wisconsin


MID-ATLANTIC Region
Rank	School	Overall (RAOR)	Conference	Last Week
1	Georgetown	54-4 (7-0)	Big East	1
2	Penn	27-10 (17-1)	Ivy	6
3	Villanova	33-2 (22-2)	Big East	2
4	Navy	13-8 (1-1)	Patriot	5
5	Princeton	13-31 (3-0)	Ivy	3
6	Penn State	16-39 (2-1)	Big Ten	4
7	La Salle	26-12 (16-3)	Atlantic 10	11
8	UMBC	24-11 (17-7)	America East	10
9	Pittsburgh	22-17 (13-4)	ACC	15
10	Bucknell	21-17 (12-7)	Patriot	12
11	Lehigh	23-12 (15-9)	Patriot	9
12	Temple	17-18 (11-13)	American	13
13	Duquesne	12-15 (10-9)	Atlantic 10	8
14	Saint Joseph’s	20-15 (12-12)	Atlantic 10	7
15	Monmouth	1-9 (1-2)	Metro Atlantic	14
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2014: Villanova, 2013: Villanova, 2012: Georgetown, 2011: Georgetown, 2010: Princeton


MIDWEST Region
Rank	School	Overall (RAOR)	Conference	Last Week
1	Oklahoma State	27-0 (3-0)	Big 12	1
2	Tulsa	41-8 (8-0)	American	4
3	Illinois	55-23 (21-1)	Big Ten	5
4	Oklahoma	28-22 (2-2)	Big 12	2
5	Minnesota	35-27 (8-0)	Big Ten	6
6	South Dakota State	27-32 (7-4)	Summit League	11
7	Iowa State	16-27 (4-4)	Big 12	3
8	Bradley	22-38 (6-1)	Missouri Valley	9
9	Kansas	20-29 (5-3)	Big 12	7
10	Missouri	28-47 (3-4)	SEC	10
11	Nebraska	28-3 (18-3)	Big Ten	12
12	Iowa	21-21 (15-5)	Big Ten	NR
13	Illinois State	22-20 (15-5)	Missouri Valley	13
14	Wichita State	17-38 (3-5)	Missouri Valley	8
15	Eastern Illinois	30-6 (16-4)	Ohio Valley	NR
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2014: Oklahoma State, 2013: Oklahoma State, 2012: Oklahoma/Oklahoma State,2011: Oklahoma State, 2010: Oklahoma


MOUNTAIN Region
Rank	School	Overall (RAOR)	Conference	Last Week
1	Colorado	42-0 (7-0)	Pac-12	1
2	BYU	42-3 (3-0)	West Coast	2
3	UTEP	57-3 (8-1)	Conference USA	3
4	Air Force	40-11 (4-3)	Mountain West	7
5	Colorado State	68-13 (9-5)	Mountain West	4
6	Southern Utah	66-17 (8-8)	Big Sky	5
7	New Mexico	24-30 (1-4)	Mountain West	8
8	Northern Arizona	9-31 (0-2)	Big Sky	6
9	Utah Valley	22-42 (4-9)	WAC	10
10	Wyoming	21-41 (3-8)	Mountain West	9
11	Utah State	24-25 (3-4)	Mountain West	11
12	Weber State	14-35 (1-6)	Big Sky	12
13	Montana State	13-17 (1-2)	Big Sky	13
14	Texas Tech	15-9 (1-0)	Big 12	14
15	New Mexico State	6-12 (0-1)	WAC	15
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2014: Colorado, 2013: Northern Arizona, 2012: Northern Arizona, 2011: BYU, 2010: New Mexico


NORTHEAST Region
Rank	School	Overall (RAOR)	Conference	Last Week
1	Syracuse	55-0 (22-0)	ACC	1
2	Iona	51-4 (4-1)	Metro Atlantic	2
3	Columbia	43-12 (13-4)	Ivy	3
4	Providence	37-25 (12-11)	Big East	6
5	Dartmouth	46-27 (33-7)	Ivy	4
6	Cornell	46-16 (18-2)	Ivy	5
7	Yale	43-31 (10-11)	Ivy	7
8	Harvard	19-36 (14-8)	Ivy	8
9	Brown	39-9 (14-4)	Ivy	11
10	UMass Lowell	46-20 (23-13)	America East	15
11	Canisius	16-3 (6-1)	Metro Atlantic	10
12	Buffalo	15-43 (6-2)	Mid-American	9
13	Binghamton	14-10 (5-8)	America East	12
14	Boston University	30-8 (30-5)	Patriot	13
15	Fordham	17-9 (14-6)	Atlantic 10	14
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2014: Syracuse, 2013: Syracuse, 2012: Iona, 2011: Syracuse, 2010: Syracuse


SOUTH Region
Rank	School	Overall (RAOR)	Conference	Last Week
1	Florida State	37-23 (6-1)	ACC	3
2	Mississippi	29-26 (6-1)	SEC	1
3	Florida	23-37 (2-0)	SEC	5
4	Georgia	23-38 (2-1)	SEC	2
5	Middle Tennessee	—	Conference USA	4
6	Georgia Tech	9-36 (0-2)	ACC	6
7	Lipscomb	32-10 (16-1)	Atlantic Sun	8
8	Auburn	32-9 (15-1)	SEC	7
9	North Florida	22-20 (10-7)	Atlantic Sun	12
10	Alabama	18-9 (8-3)	SEC	9
11	Tennessee	28-20 (4-2)	SEC	11
12	Belmont	19-23 (9-8)	Ohio Valley	15
13	South Alabama	18-24 (9-8)	Sun Belt	13
14	Samford	12-15 (6-8)	Southern	10
15	Mississippi State	13-24 (4-8)	SEC	14
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2014: Mississippi, 2013: Georgia, 2012: Florida State, 2011: Florida State, 2010: Alabama


SOUTH CENTRAL Region
Rank	School	Overall (RAOR)	Conference	Last Week
1	Arkansas	53-2 (12-0)	SEC	1
2	Texas	46-16 (22-2)	Big 12	2
3	Texas A&M	46-10 (20-2)	SEC	4
4	Stephen F. Austin	25-31 (13-5)	Southland	5
5	North Texas	24-38 (20-4)	Conference USA	3
6	UT Arlington	28-15 (19-9)	Sun Belt	8
7	Lamar	11-39 (10-4)	Southland	6
8	Houston	10-46 (9-9)	American	7
9	LSU	21-30 (12-18)	SEC	NR
10	Baylor	17-7 (7-1)	Big 12	10
11	Houston Baptist	19-20 (13-11)	Southland	11
12	Sam Houston State	17-16 (12-7)	Southland	12
13	McNeese State	18-23 (14-12)	Southland	9
14	Central Arkansas	13-18 (10-14)	Southland	15
15	UTSA	8-13 (6-5)	Conference USA	NR
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2014: Arkansas, 2013: Arkansas, 2012: Texas, 2011: Texas, 2010: Arkansas


SOUTHEAST Region
Rank	School	Overall (RAOR)	Conference	Last Week
1	Virginia	47-3 (14-0)	ACC	1
2	Furman	47-7 (15-2)	Southern	4
3	NC State	47-7 (3-2)	ACC	2
4	Virginia Tech	64-14 (14-3)	ACC	5
5	Eastern Kentucky	47-23 (12-7)	Ohio Valley	6
6	Louisville	49-12 (8-1)	ACC	3
7	Duke	35-22 (10-5)	ACC	7
8	North Carolina	11-33 (3-6)	ACC	10
9	Kentucky	29-26 (2-3)	SEC	9
10	Liberty	42-10 (20-6)	Big South	12
11	Campbell	30-33 (14-6)	Big South	8
12	High Point	40-12 (20-6)	Big South	13
13	William and Mary	3-41 (1-8)	Colonial	11
14	George Mason	16-0 (14-0)	Atlantic 10	14
15	Clemson	37-4 (10-2)	ACC	15
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2014: Virginia, 2013: Eastern Kentucky, 2012: Virginia, 2011: NC State, 2010: William and Mary


WEST Region
Rank	School	Overall (RAOR)	Conference	Last Week
1	Oregon	50-1 (13-0)	Pac-12	1
2	UCLA	34-11 (11-2)	Pac-12	4
3	Boise State	41-15 (8-2)	Mountain West	5
4	California	58-10 (13-3)	Pac-12	3
5	Washington	28-17 (8-5)	Pac-12	6
6	Portland	21-24 (6-7)	West Coast	8
7	Stanford	34-21 (16-5)	Pac-12	2
8	UC Santa Barbara	35-25 (4-2)	Big West	13
9	Washington State	32-19 (5-8)	Pac-12	9
10	San Francisco	39-23 (4-6)	West Coast	7
11	Cal Poly	29-22 (7-6)	Big West	10
12	Gonzaga	2-8 (2-6)	West Coast	11
13	Long Beach State	10-11 (2-3)	Big West	12
14	Arizona State	3-51 (0-6)	Pac-12	14
15	San Jose State	17-3 (12-3)	Mountain West	NR
Regional Championship History — Last Five Champions: 2014: Oregon, 2013: Stanford, 2012: Stanford, 2011: Stanford, 2010: Oregon