Division I Cross Country National Coaches Polls Remain Calm – But Not For Much Longer
NEW ORLEANS – Four weekends of preparation and posturing are in the books, and the table is set for the heart of the NCAA Division I Cross Country season to get underway.
The top ten teams remained static in both the men’s and women’s editions of the week two National Coaches Polls released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). This is the final edition ahead of the September 26 date marking the beginning of the "countable season," during which results will count toward at-large consideration into the NCAA Championships.
National Poll PDFs: Week 2 Top 30 Summary | Week-by-Week 2014 | Week-by-Week All Time
Regional Rankings: Week 2 Summary
Division I XC Rankings and Polls Central
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Overall, only a third of the 60 ranked teams between men and women checked in at a different position from a week ago – and only the No. 20 Michigan men and No. 22 Vanderbilt women moved as many as two in the positive direction.
Reigning national men’s champion and unanimous No. 1 Colorado remained atop the men’s poll, followed by No. 2 Northern Arizona, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 5 Stanford. Each of their top squads were idle this past weekend.
Oregon is the top-five team in the midst of the hottest action this upcoming weekend at Friday’s Boston College Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown, up against a field that includes No. 8 Syracuse and No. 16 Providence.
No. 1 Michigan remained atop the women’s poll after a strong 2014 inter-squad debut win at the Big Ten Preview over No. 16 Wisconsin. In a tight race for the second spot, current No. 2 Oregon is just one point ahead of No. 3 Michigan State. The Spartans won Oregon’s Bill Dellinger Invitational earlier this season, but the Ducks did not run their top squad.
No. 4 Stanford and No. 5 Georgetown held steady to round out the top five.
Michigan headlines the field at Boston College against two of the past three national champions in 2011 winner Georgetown and defending champ No. 18 Providence, along with No. 15 Syracuse, No. 16 Boston College and No. 25 Dartmouth.
Mitten State rival Michigan State headlines the weekend’s other big meet in Saturday’s Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational. No. 9 Iowa State is the top challenger, along with No. 11 Butler, No. 22 Vanderbilt, No. 28 Minnesota and No. 30 North Carolina.
New to the polls this week were a pair of No. 30 teams in the Penn State men and the North Carolina women.
The NCAA Championships will be held Saturday, November 22, in Terre Haute, Indiana, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
For a full breakdown of the upcoming weekend’s action, check back later this week for the USTFCCCA Warm-Up Lap.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division I |
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Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll |
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2014 Week #2 — September 23 |
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next poll: September 30 | ||||||
Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region | Conference | Cross Country Coach (Yr*) |
Last Week
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1 | Colorado (12) | 360 | Mountain | Pac-12 | Mark Wetmore (20th) |
1
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2 | Northern Arizona | 341 | Mountain | Big Sky | Eric Heins (8th) |
2
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3 | Oregon | 336 | West | Pac-12 | Robert Johnson (3rd) |
3
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4 | Oklahoma State | 322 | Midwest | Big 12 | Dave Smith (9th) |
4
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5 | Stanford | 316 | West | Pac-12 | Chris Miltenberg (3rd) |
5
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6 | Portland | 288 | West | West Coast | Rob Conner (25th) |
6
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7 | Indiana | 277 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | Ron Helmer (8th) |
7
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8 | Syracuse | 273 | Northeast | ACC | Chris Fox (10th) |
8
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9 | Villanova | 259 | Mid-Atlantic | Big East | Marcus O’Sullivan (15th) |
9
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10 | BYU | 247 | Mountain | West Coast | Ed Eyestone (15th) |
10
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11 | Wisconsin | 245 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | Mick Byrne (7th) |
11
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12 | Iona | 226 | Northeast | Metro Atlantic | Ricardo Santos (7th) |
12
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13 | Virginia | 183 | Southeast | ACC | Peter Watson (3rd) |
14
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14 | NC State | 182 | Southeast | ACC | Rollie Geiger (37th) |
15
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15 | Arkansas | 176 | South Central | SEC | Chris Bucknam (7th) |
13
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16 | Providence | 172 | Northeast | Big East | Ray Treacy (31st) |
16
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17 | New Mexico | 165 | Mountain | Mountain West | Joe Franklin (8th) |
17
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18 | Tulsa | 133 | Midwest | American | Steve Gulley (13th) |
18
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19 | North Carolina | 120 | Southeast | ACC | Mark VanAlstyne (3rd) |
19
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20 | Michigan | 117 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | Kevin Sullivan (1st) |
22
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21 | Eastern Kentucky | 113 | Southeast | Ohio Valley | Rick Erdmann (36th) |
20
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22 | Princeton | 110 | Mid-Atlantic | Ivy | Jason Vigilante (3rd) |
21
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23 | UCLA | 108 | West | Pac-12 | Mike Maynard (6th) |
24
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24 | Texas | 104 | South Central | Big 12 | Mario Sategna (2nd) |
23
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25 | Florida State | 97 | South | ACC | Bob Braman (15th) |
25
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26 | Washington | 73 | West | Pac-12 | Greg Metcalf (13th) |
27
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27 | Iowa State | 71 | Midwest | Big 12 | Martin Smith (2nd) |
26
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28 | Oklahoma | 67 | Midwest | Big 12 | Jim VanHootegem (2nd) |
28
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29 | Colorado State | 30 | Mountain | Mountain West | Art Siemers (3rd) |
29
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30 | Penn State | 15 | Mid-Atlantic | Big Ten | John Gondak (1st) |
RV
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Others Receiving Votes: Columbia 14, Georgetown 12, Air Force 7, Auburn 7, Lamar 6, Butler 6, Virginia Tech 4, Yale 1 | ||||||
Dropped Out: No. 30 Columbia | ||||||
(* year as effective coach of that team in men’s cross country) |
USTFCCCA NCAA Division I |
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Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll |
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2014 Week #2 — September 23 |
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next poll: September 30 | ||||||
Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region | Conference | Cross Country Coach (Yr*) |
Last Week
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1 | Michigan (8) | 356 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | Mike McGuire (23rd) |
1
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2 | Oregon (1) | 335 | West | Pac-12 | Robert Johnson (3rd) |
2
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3 | Michigan State (2) | 334 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | Walt Drenth (11th) |
3
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4 | Stanford | 321 | West | Pac-12 | Chris Miltenberg (3rd) |
4
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5 | Georgetown | 306 | Mid-Atlantic | Big East | Michael Smith (3rd) |
5
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6 | Florida State | 298 | South | ACC | Karen Harvey (8th) |
6
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7 | Colorado | 281 | Mountain | Pac-12 | Mark Wetmore (20th) |
7
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8 | Arkansas (1) | 278 | South Central | SEC | Lance Harter (25th) |
8
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9 | Iowa State | 259 | Midwest | Big 12 | Andrea Grove-McDonough (2nd) |
9
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10 | Virginia | 258 | Southeast | ACC | Todd Morgan (3rd) |
10
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11 | Butler | 247 | Great Lakes | Big East | Matt Roe (8th) |
11
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12 | New Mexico | 226 | Mountain | Mountain West | Joe Franklin (8th) |
12
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13 | Villanova | 190 | Mid-Atlantic | Big East | Gina Procaccio (15th) |
13
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14 | Syracuse | 186 | Northeast | ACC | Chris Fox (10th) |
15
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15 | Washington | 177 | West | Pac-12 | Greg Metcalf (13th) |
14
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16 | Wisconsin | 162 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | Mick Byrne (1st) |
16
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17 | Boston College | 147 | Northeast | ACC | Randy Thomas (23rd) |
16
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18 | Providence | 136 | Northeast | Big East | Ray Treacy (31st) |
18
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19 | Oklahoma State | 115 | Midwest | Big 12 | Dave Smith (6th) |
20
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20 | Boise State | 111 | West | Mountain West | Corey Ihmels (2nd) |
19
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21 | West Virginia | 108 | Mid-Atlantic | Big 12 | Sean Cleary (8th) |
21
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22 | Vanderbilt | 86 | South | SEC | Steve Keith (9th) |
24
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23 | Virginia Tech | 80 | Southeast | ACC | Ben Thomas (14th) |
22
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24 | SMU | 75 | South Central | American | Cathy Casey (10th) |
23
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25 | Dartmouth | 69 | Northeast | Ivy | Courtney Jaworski (1st) |
25
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26 | William and Mary | 55 | Southeast | Colonial | Natalie Hall (1st) |
26
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27 | Penn State | 52 | Mid-Atlantic | Big Ten | John Gondak (1st) |
27
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28 | Minnesota | 46 | Midwest | Big Ten | Sarah Hopkins (2nd) |
28
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29 | NC State | 37 | Southeast | ACC | Laurie Henes (9th) |
29
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30 | North Carolina | 34 | Southeast | ACC | Mark VanAlstyne (3rd) |
NR
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Others Receiving Votes: Weber State 19, Princeton 18, Arizona State 15, Cornell 8, BYU 6, Toledo 5, Baylor 5, Texas A&M 2, Duke 1 | ||||||
Dropped Out: No. 30 Weber State | ||||||
(* year as effective coach of that team in women’s cross country) |