THREE GLIAC PROGRAMS RANKED INSIDE TOP 11 OF WOMEN'S POLL
NEW ORLEANS – Defending national women's champion Adams State remained atop an eventful post-conference championships edition of the NCAA Division II National Coaches' Poll, but not all of the poll's first-place votes stayed in Alamosa, Colorado.
A national showdown is brewing as the former unanimous No. 1 Grizzlies won the RMAC in decisive fashion, but still saw one of their eight first-place nods defect to GLIAC champion No. 2 Grand Valley State.
The two schools have combined to win 12 of the last 13 national titles, with GVSU having won four of the past six. ASU and GVSU went 1-2 at last year's NCAA Championships.
Adams State put four in the top-10 to topple then-No. 4 Western State, 33-77 – a feat matched at the GLIAC Championships by the Lakers to outpace No. 10 Northern Michigan, 35-69.
USTFCCCA Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll - October 26, 2016
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region (CR) | Conference | Head Coach (Yr*) | Last |
| 1 | Adams State (7) | 199 | South Central (1) | RMAC | Damon Martin (29th) |
1
|
| 2 | Grand Valley State (1) | 193 | Midwest (1) | GLIAC | Jerry Baltes (18th) |
2
|
| 3 | U-Mary | 184 | Central (1) | NSIC | Dennis Newell (11th) |
3
|
| 4 | Minnesota Duluth | 167 | Central (2) | NSIC | Joanna Warmington (6th) |
5
|
| 5 | Western State | 166 | South Central (2) | RMAC | Jennifer Michel (10th) |
4
|
| 6 | Southern Indiana | 161 | Midwest (2) | GLVC | Mike Hillyard (20th) |
7
|
| 7 | Chico State | 154 | West (1) | CCAA | Gary Towne (21st) |
9
|
| 8 | Cedarville | 150 | Midwest (3) | G-MAC | Jeff Bolender (7th) |
6
|
| 9 | Cal Baptist | 136 | West (2) | PacWest | Ben Gall (5th) |
8
|
| 10 | Northern Michigan | 128 | Midwest (4) | GLIAC | Jenny Ryan (10th) |
10
|
| 11 | Alaska Anchorage | 110 | West (3) | GNAC | Michael Friess (27th) |
14
|
| 11 | Hillsdale | 110 | Midwest (5) | GLIAC | Andrew Towne (6th) |
12
|
| 13 | Stonehill | 105 | East (1) | Northeast-10 | Karen Boen (19th) |
13
|
| 14 | CSU-Pueblo | 104 | South Central (3) | RMAC | Matt Morris (4th) |
21
|
| 15 | Dallas Baptist | 87 | South Central (4) | Heartland Conference | Jacob Phillips (12th) |
15
|
| 16 | Simon Fraser | 72 | West (4) | GNAC | Brit Townsend (17th) |
19
|
| 17 | UC-Colorado Springs | 63 | South Central (5) | RMAC | Corey Kubatzky (2nd) |
11
|
| 18 | Point Loma Nazarene | 59 | West (5) | PacWest | Jerry Arvin (26th) |
16
|
| 19 | Southwest Baptist | 57 | Central (3) | MIAA | Corey McElhaney (9th) |
23
|
| 20 | Montevallo | 56 | Southeast (1) | Peach Belt | Julia Marquardt (4th) |
19
|
| 21 | Shippensburg | 43 | Atlantic (1) | PSAC | Steve Spence (19th) |
22
|
| 22 | Bellarmine | 19 | Midwest (6) | GLVC | Kris Horton (12th) |
NR
|
| 23 | Cal Poly Pomona | 15 | West (6) | CCAA | Octavious Gillespie-Bennett (5th) |
NR
|
| 24 | Bloomsburg | 14 | Atlantic (2) | PSAC | Bernie Empie (8th) |
NR
|
| 24 | Saint Leo | 14 | South (1) | Sunshine | Kent Reiber (2nd) |
RV
|
GVSU NO. 2, SVSU JUMPS UP MEN'S POLL
NEW ORLEANS – After spending just one edition of the NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll at No. 3, the defending national champion Orediggers are back at No. 1 with a decisive win over former national favorite Adams State at the RMAC Championships.
The newest poll, announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, sets the stage for next weekend's regional championships – the litmus test for determining who does and who does not qualify for the NCAA Championships in Saint Leo, Florida, on November 19.
Colorado Mines plays the leading role with seven of the eight first-place votes cast in its favor, while GLIAC Champion No. 2 Grand Valley State garnered the final top nod.
GVSU was similarly dominant in winning the GLIAC Championships – its 15th in a row – with Zach Panning finishing runner-up to lead three in the top four and six in the top-11. The Lakers prevailed over Saginaw Valley State, 28-77. SVSU moved up two spots to No. 13 with the result – its best rank since 2006.
USTFCCCA Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll - October 26, 2016
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region (CR) | Conference | Head Coach (Yr*) | Last |
| 1 | Colorado Mines (7) | 199 | South Central (1) | RMAC | Chris Siemers (5th) |
3
|
| 2 | Grand Valley State (1) | 192 | Midwest (1) | GLIAC | Jerry Baltes (18th) |
2
|
| 3 | Adams State | 184 | South Central (2) | RMAC | Damon Martin (22nd) |
1
|
| 4 | Chico State | 177 | West (1) | CCAA | Gary Towne (21st) |
4
|
| 5 | Augustana (S.D.) | 161 | Central (1) | NSIC | Tracy Hellman (16th) |
7
|
| 6 | Alaska Anchorage | 159 | West (2) | GNAC | Michael Friess (27th) |
9
|
| 7 | Southern Indiana | 151 | Midwest (2) | GLVC | Mike Hillyard (19th) |
10
|
| 8 | CSU-Pueblo | 144 | South Central (3) | RMAC | Matt Morris (4th) |
8
|
| 9 | Cal Poly Pomona | 142 | West (3) | CCAA | Gillespie-Bennett (5th) |
5
|
| 10 | Western State | 120 | South Central (4) | RMAC | Jennifer Michel (10th) |
6
|
| 11 | UC San Diego | 113 | West (4) | CCAA | Nate Garcia (10th) |
12
|
| 12 | Missouri Southern | 107 | Central (2) | MIAA | Bryan Schiding (4th) |
16
|
| 13 | Saginaw Valley State | 103 | Midwest (3) | GLIAC | Rod Cowan (7th) |
15
|
| 14 | American International | 86 | East (1) | Northeast-10 | Leo Mayo (11th) |
19
|
| 15 | Mount Olive | 83 | Southeast (1) | Conf. Carolinas | Matt Van Lierop (8th) |
17
|
| 16 | Cal Baptist | 79 | West (5) | PacWest | Ben Gall (5th) |
17
|
| 17 | Hillsdale | 74 | Midwest (4) | GLIAC | Andrew Towne (3rd) |
11
|
| 18 | West Texas A&M | 66 | South Central (5) | Lone Star | Darren Flowers (8th) |
22
|
| 19 | Shippensburg | 53 | Atlantic (1) | PSAC | Steve Spence (19th) |
23
|
| 20 | Lee (Tenn.) | 44 | South (1) | Gulf South | Caleb Morgan (3rd) |
14
|
| 21 | Lock Haven | 41 | Atlantic (2) | PSAC | Aaron Russell (19th) |
20
|
| 22 | Lewis | 37 | Midwest (5) | GLVC | James Kearney (3rd) |
25
|
| 23 | MSU Moorhead | 30 | Central (3) | NSIC | Ryan Milner (6th) |
RV
|
| 24 | Simon Fraser | 15 | West (6) | GNAC | Brit Townsend (17th) |
RV
|
| 25 | Bellarmine | 11 | Midwest (6) | GLVC | Jim Vargo (17th) |
RV
|
