Griak Results Alter NCAA DII Women’s National Coaches’ Poll
NEW ORLEANS – The Roy Griak Invitational turned out to be a proving ground for NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country teams, as several teams made big moves – for better or for worse – in the newest National Coaches’ Poll.
While meet champion No. 4 U-Mary didn’t get a bump in the poll announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the top-15 was littered with teams who impressed at the Les Bolstad Golf Course.
National PDFs: Top 25 Summary | Week-by-Week 2016 | Week-by-Week All-Time
Regional Rankings PDFs: Regional Rankings Summary | Rankings Recap
Division II XC Polls/Rankings Central | MEN’S POLL
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U-Mary was part of a completely stationary top five, still headed by No. 1 Grand Valley State with five of the eight first-place votes. Defending national champion No. 2 Adams State, No. 3 Chico State, U-Mary and No. 5 Western State rounded out the top five.
The highest-ranked mover was runner-up Minnesota Duluth, which improved three spots to No. 6 after a narrow two-point loss to U-Mary, 93-95. The Bulldogs were marginally better than the Marauders through three runners, 27-28, but U-Mary was just a touch stronger in the back two-fifths of its scoring lineup, 65-68.
This is already the second time the two teams have met this season, with potentially three more showdowns slated for the postseason at the NSIC, Central Region and NCAA championships.
No. 11 Northern Michigan jumped up six spots with its third-place effort, rebounding from a sluggish performance at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational earlier this month.
Another pair of teams made their 2016 National Coaches’ Poll top-25 debuts off the strength of their respective fourth- and fifth-place finishes at Griak: No. 14 UC-Colorado Springs and No. 15 UC San Diego.
Those two came in just ahead of No. 16 Western Washington – a team that disappointed with a sixth-place finish at Griak and dropped eight spots from last time as a result.
With Western Washington dropping out of the top-10, that opened the door for Cedarville to break into the top-10 for the first time in program history at No. 10.
No. 21 Pittsburg State also joined the poll with its seventh-place effort in Minnesota. This is the Gorillas’ first top-25 appearance since late in 2013.
See the full poll below.
The USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll for DII ranks the top 25 teams in the country. Voting panel of eight consists of the eight regional representatives, per gender.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division II |
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Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll |
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2016 Week #3 — September 28 |
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| next poll: October 5 | ||||||
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region (CR) | Conference | Head Coach (Yr*) |
Last
Week |
| 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 | 183 | West (1) | CCAA | Gary Towne (21st) |
3
|
| 4 | U-Mary | 174 | Central (1) | NSIC | Dennis Newell (11th) |
4
|
| 5 | Western State | 166 | South Central (2) | RMAC | Jennifer Michel (10th) |
5
|
| 6 | Minnesota Duluth | 159 | Central (2) | NSIC | Joanna Warmington (6th) |
9
|
| 7 | Southern Indiana | 155 | Midwest (2) | GLVC | Mike Hillyard (20th) |
6
|
| 8 | Hillsdale | 146 | Midwest (3) | GLIAC | Andrew Towne (6th) |
7
|
| 9 | Stonehill | 135 | East (1) | Northeast-10 | Karen Boen (19th) |
10
|
| 10 | Cedarville | 121 | Midwest (4) | G-MAC | Jeff Bolender (7th) |
11
|
| 11 | Northern Michigan | 117 | Midwest (5) | GLIAC | Jenny Ryan (10th) |
17
|
| 12 | Cal Baptist | 110 | West (2) | PacWest | Ben Gall (5th) |
13
|
| 13 | Augustana (S.D.) | 106 | Central (3) | NSIC | Tracy Hellman (16th) |
12
|
| 14 | UC-Colorado Springs | 98 | South Central (3) | RMAC | Corey Kubatzky (2nd) |
NR
|
| 15 | UC San Diego | 86 | West (3) | CCAA | Nate Garcia (10th) |
RV
|
| 16 | Western Washington | 74 | West (4) | GNAC | Pee Wee Halsell (30th) |
8
|
| 17 | Dallas Baptist | 69 | South Central (4) | Heartland | Jacob Phillips (12th) |
14
|
| 18 | Malone | 56 | Midwest (6) | G-MAC | Jack Hazen (26th) |
15
|
| 19 | Seattle Pacific | 50 | West (5) | GNAC | Karl Lerum (4th) |
18
|
| 20 | Montevallo | 44 | Southeast (1) | Peach Belt | Julia Marquardt (4th) |
19
|
| 21 | Pittsburg State | 40 | Central (4) | MIAA | Russ Jewett (31st) |
RV
|
| 22 | Colorado Mines | 35 | South Central (5) | RMAC | Chris Siemers (5th) |
21
|
| 23 | Bloomsburg | 32 | Atlantic (1) | PSAC | Bernie Empie (8th) |
19
|
| 24 | Shippensburg | 18 | Atlantic (2) | PSAC | Steve Spence (19th) |
22
|
| 25 | Lewis | 15 | Midwest (7) | GLVC | James Kearney (3rd) |
23
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| Also Receiving Votes: Alaska Anchorage 12, Queens (N.C.) 5, Saint Leo 2 | ||||||
| Dropped Out: No. 16 Winona State, No. 24 Alaska Anchorage, No. 25 Queens (N.C.) | ||||||
| (* year as head coach of that team in women’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed) | ||||||
