Pure Michigan: Women of Michigan & Michigan State Make History
Atop DI Cross Country National Poll

NEW ORLEANS—National polling archives for NCAA Division I Cross Country date back to 1998 for men and ’95 for women. During that time, never have two schools from one state claimed the top two ranks in either sex’s national poll.

Not until today, at least.

The women of No. 1 Michigan and new No. 2 Michigan State made history in the week three edition of the National Coaches Polls released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), as the Spartans moved past now-No. 3 Oregon with a decisive win at the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday.

National Poll PDFs: Week 3 Top 30 Summary | Week-by-Week 2014 | Week-by-Week All Time
Regional Rankings: Week 3 Summary
Division I XC Rankings and Polls Central

NCAA DIVISION I NATIONAL COACHES POLL TOP 5 – MEN 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Colorado Northern Arizona Oregon Oklahoma State Portland View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll   NCAA DIVISION I NATIONAL COACHES POLL TOP 5 – WOMEN 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Michigan Michigan State Oregon Stanford Georgetown View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

Led by fifth-place Rachele Schulist and ninth-place Leah O’Connor, the Spartans put five scorers across the finish line among the top 22 finishers – no other team had more than three in the top 30 – to win over No. 9 Iowa State, 66-102.

MSU’s in-state rivals hold on to the top spot for another week, as the Wolverines won Friday’s Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown. UofM was similarly dominant in Boston, putting three in the top 10 – including runner-up Erin Finn and third-place Shannon Osika – to take down No. 5 Georgetown, 55-77

The rivals won’t race each other until Big Tens on November 2nd, though Michigan and Oregon are both running at Pre-Nationals in two weeks.

Like MSU, most of the teams that made the biggest moves in Tuesday’s poll did so on the basis of races in Minnesota on Saturday. No. 16 North Carolina is the biggest mover, jumped 16 spots with its third-place finish.

Though Emma Bates struggled to a sixth-place finish at Griak, the rest of her No. 17 Boise State Broncos squad ran well in a fourth-place showing and were rewarded with the highest ranking the program has received in the 20 seasons of polling in the USTFCCCA archives.

Both new teams, No. 24 Baylor and No. 25 Arizona State – led by Griak runner-up Rachel Johnson and winner/National Athlete of the Week Shelby Houlihan, respectively – enter after good Griak performances. THe Bears were fifth, followed by the Sun Devils in sixth.

Only eight teams in the top 20 changed places, but teams No. 20 through 30 are all different from a week ago. No. 21 Dartmouth and No. 22 William & Mary are the two largest leapers based on their performances at Boston College and Virginia, respectively. Both climbed four slots and are led by first-year coaches, Courtney Jaworski and Natalie Hall, respectively.

Like the women’s, the top half of the men’s poll was largely static and the bottom almost entirely changed. Nos. 5 and 6 Portland and Stanford switched places after Stanford ran a portion of its varsity at its home meet and Portland didn’t race, marking the only movement among the top 11 teams.

Seventeen of the bottom 18 teams in the poll are in a different spot than they were last Tuesday. No. 12Providence (third in Boston) and No. 25 Colorado State (second at Griak) each improved four spots in the poll.

Three of the new teams enter on recognition of their Griak scores: upset team winner No. 22 Southern Utah, No. 27 Minnesota, and No. 30 Michigan State. 

The fourth new school in the poll is No. 29 Furman, ranked for the first time since at least 1998 when the USTFCCCA archives begin. The Paladins may stay in the poll for a while, as they finished within four points ofVirginia and beat a shorthanded Iona on Friday at Panorama Farms. Those two teams are currently tied for 13th nationally.

With another busy schedule on the horizon for this upcoming weekend, expect more movement in the fourth regular season edition of the poll. Thirty-five of the 60 ranked teams raced this past weekend; out of the 25 that sat out, all 25 have races on their schedules for this upcoming weekend.

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. For live updates throughout the weekend, check in with the new USTFCCCA National Results Wall.