GVSU SECOND, HILLSDALE MAKES BIG SPLASH IN MEN'S POLL
NEW ORLEANS – Defending NCAA DII Men's Cross Country Champion Colorado Mines maintained its status atop the week two edition of the National Coaches' Polls, but it was moving week for pretty much the rest of the top-25.
The Orediggers were one of just three teams that held steady from last week in the new men's poll announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). One was No. 4 Chico State and the other was No. 20 Saginaw Valley State.
Perhaps no team, though, made a bigger impression this weekend than the Hillsdale men. The Chargers went from unranked to No. 11 – its highest rank since 2014 and tied for its third-best mark in program history – after finishing fifth at Michigan State ahead of regional foe Southern Indiana. Those Screaming Eagles, meanwhile, fell five spots to No. 13.
USTFCCCA Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll - September 21, 2016
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region (CR) | Conference | Head Coach (Yr*) | Last |
| 1 | Colorado Mines (7) | 199 | South Central (1) | RMAC | Chris Siemers (5th) |
1
|
| 2 | Grand Valley State (1) | 189 | Midwest (1) | GLIAC | Jerry Baltes (18th) |
3
|
| 3 | Adams State | 187 | South Central (2) | RMAC | Damon Martin (22nd) |
2
|
| 4 | Chico State | 177 | West (1) | CCAA | Gary Towne (21st) |
4
|
| 5 | Cal Poly Pomona | 158 | West (2) | CCAA | O. Gillespie-Bennett (5th) |
10
|
| 6 | Augustana (S.D.) | 156 | Central (1) | NSIC | Tracy Hellman (16th) |
7
|
| 7 | Shippensburg | 153 | Atlantic (1) | PSAC | Steve Spence (19th) |
6
|
| 8 | Western State | 149 | South Central (3) | RMAC | Jennifer Michel (10th) |
9
|
| 9 | Alaska Anchorage | 140 | West (3) | GNAC | Michael Friess (27th) |
5
|
| 10 | CSU-Pueblo | 119 | South Central (4) | RMAC | Matt Morris (4th) |
11
|
| 11 | Hillsdale | 116 | Midwest (2) | GLIAC | Andrew Towne (3rd) |
RV
|
| 12 | Mount Olive | 97 | Southeast (1) | Conf. Carolinas | Matt Van Lierop (8th) |
17
|
| 13 | Southern Indiana | 95 | Midwest (3) | GLVC | Mike Hillyard (19th) |
8
|
| 14 | Western Washington | 91 | West (4) | GNAC | Pee Wee Halsell (30th) |
15
|
| 15 | Lee (Tenn.) | 89 | South (1) | Gulf South | Caleb Morgan (3rd) |
21
|
| 16 | Lock Haven | 70 | Atlantic (2) | PSAC | Aaron Russell (19th) |
15
|
| 17 | West Texas A&M | 66 | South Central (5) | Lone Star | Darren Flowers (8th) |
18
|
| 18 | MSU Moorhead | 64 | Central (2) | NSIC | Ryan Milner (6th) |
22
|
| 19 | American International | 61 | East (1) | Northeast-10 | Leo Mayo (11th) |
25
|
| 20 | Saginaw Valley State | 54 | Midwest (4) | GLIAC | Rod Cowan (7th) |
20
|
| 21 | UC San Diego | 37 | West (5) | CCAA | Nate Garcia (10th) |
NR
|
| 22 | Missouri Southern | 35 | Central (3) | MIAA | Bryan Schiding (4th) |
NR
|
| 23 | Stonehill | 32 | East (2) | Northeast-10 | Karen Boen (19th) |
19
|
| 24 | Bellarmine | 19 | Midwest (5) | GLVC | Jim Vargo (17th) |
NR
|
| 25 | Cal Baptist | 11 | West (6) | PacWest | Ben Gall (5th) |
RV
|
GRAND VALLEY STATE MAINTAINS TOP SPOT IN WOMEN'S POLL
NEW ORLEANS – While not quite as eventful as the NCAA DII Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll also unveiled Wednesday, the women's top-25 had its fair share of big-time shakeups.
More than two-thirds of the teams in the women's poll announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) came in with a different rank than a week ago, including three teams that joined the top-25 for the first time this season.
The winds of change didn't howl quite as swiftly into the top-five, however, as Grand Valley State continued to sit atop the poll. The Lakers earned five first-place votes, with the remaining three cast in favor of defending national champion No. 2 Adams State.
Grand Valley's 2016 debut at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational – led by winner and National Athlete of the Week Kendra Foley – was strong as the Lakers finished runner-up only to the host Spartans – but not strong enough to prevent one of GVSU's first place nods from defecting to the idle Grizzlies.
Also holding steady to round out the top five were No. 3 Chico State, No. 4 U-Mary and No. 5 Western State.
Southern Indiana took the most immediate advantage, sliding up two spots to No. 6 and bypassing stationary No. 7 Hillsdale after topping the Chargers head-to-head at Michigan State.
USTFCCCA Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll - September 21, 2016
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region (CR) | Conference | Head Coach (Yr*) | Last |
| 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 | 181 | West (1) | CCAA | Gary Towne (21st) |
3
|
| 4 | U-Mary | 175 | Central (1) | NSIC | Dennis Newell (11th) |
4
|
| 5 | Western State | 169 | South Central (2) | RMAC | Jennifer Michel (10th) |
5
|
| 6 | Southern Indiana | 162 | Midwest (2) | GLVC | Mike Hillyard (20th) |
8
|
| 7 | Hillsdale | 150 | Midwest (3) | GLIAC | Andrew Towne (6th) |
7
|
| 8 | Western Washington | 146 | West (2) | GNAC | Pee Wee Halsell (30th) |
10
|
| 9 | Minnesota Duluth | 132 | Central (2) | NSIC | Joanna Warmington (6th) |
10
|
| 10 | Stonehill | 129 | East (1) | Northeast-10 | Karen Boen (19th) |
13
|
| 11 | Cedarville | 114 | Midwest (4) | G-MAC | Jeff Bolender (7th) |
14
|
| 12 | Augustana (S.D.) | 111 | Central (3) | NSIC | Tracy Hellman (16th) |
12
|
| 13 | Cal Baptist | 104 | West (3) | PacWest | Ben Gall (5th) |
15
|
| 14 | Dallas Baptist | 93 | South Central (3) | Heartland | Jacob Phillips (12th) |
17
|
| 15 | Malone | 86 | Midwest (5) | G-MAC | Jack Hazen (26th) |
NR
|
| 16 | Winona State | 76 | Central (4) | NSIC | Brett Ayers (4th) |
18
|
| 17 | Northern Michigan | 59 | Midwest (6) | GLIAC | Jenny Ryan (10th) |
9
|
| 18 | Seattle Pacific | 50 | West (4) | GNAC | Karl Lerum (4th) |
24
|
| 19 | Montevallo | 48 | Southeast (1) | Peach Belt | Julia Marquardt (4th) |
18
|
| 19 | Bloomsburg | 48 | Atlantic (1) | PSAC | Bernie Empie (8th) |
RV
|
| 21 | Colorado Mines | 37 | South Central (4) | RMAC | Chris Siemers (5th) |
22
|
| 22 | Shippensburg | 32 | Atlantic (2) | PSAC | Steve Spence (19th) |
20
|
| 23 | Lewis | 25 | Midwest (7) | GLVC | James Kearney (3rd) |
16
|
| 24 | Alaska Anchorage | 21 | West (6) | GNAC | Michael Friess (27th) |
6
|
| 25 | Queens (N.C.) | 17 | Southeast (2) | SAC | Jim Vahrenkamp (5th) |
NR
|
