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Region Champs Among Good Company In Final NCAA DI Women’s XC Poll - USTFCCCAPublished by
By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA November 14, 2016
NEW ORLEANS — Right now in NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country, there’s Colorado and then there is everybody else.
It was that way for Michigan State in 2014, Villanova in 2010, Washington in 2008 and Stanford in 2007, 2006 and 2004. What do all of those teams have in common? They were all unanimous No. 1 selections in the Pre-Championship Edition of the National Coaches’ Polls. The Buffs — who were ranked No. 1 in the most recent poll that was released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) — are in good company, too. Five of those six unanimous No. 1 teams won national titles at NCAAs, with the lone exception being the Cardinal in 2004. National PDFs: Summary | Week-by-Week 2016 | Week-by-Week All Time CLICK HERE FOR THE MEN’S NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL If you watched Colorado at all in its past two races — especially this past weekend at the Mountain Region Championships — there is little reason to doubt a third crown won’t be going back to Boulder on Saturday. It was in Logan, Utah where the Buffs demolished a field with four other teams that were ranked in the Week 6 poll. Colorado put six runners in the top-12 (4-6-7-8-10-12) and scored the second fewest points in the past 12 years of the meet (35). The Buffs are one of seven regional champs in the top-10 of this week’s poll. No. 2 NC State notched an equally as dominant victory in the Southeast Region as it won by 110 points and packed up well behind individual runner-up Erika Kemp. No. 3 Providence held off a game challenge from No. 17 Harvard in the Northeast Region as depth issues continue to rear their ugly heads. No. 4 Stanford, led by a trio of talented freshmen, won its first West Region crown since 2007 after dispatching now-No. 7 Washington 71-88. No. 5 Michigan won its fifth Great Lakes Region title in the past six years behind another individual victory by Erin Finn, who is the odds-on favorite at NCAAs. No. 8 Penn State and No. 9 Arkansas both continued their strong seasons with titles in the Mid-Atlantic Region and South Central Region, respectively. The Razorbacks fell two spots in the poll from Week 6 to Week 7, however. Well, that’s seven of the nine region winners. What about the other two? Midwest Region champ Missouri toppled both Iowa State and Oklahoma State and was rewarded for its effort. The Karissa Schweizer-led Tigers went from receiving votes in Week 6 to No. 13 in Week 7. This is Missouri’s best billing in the poll since it was No. 9 in 2004 under former head coach Rebecca Wilmes. South Region champ Mississippi State trumped Ole Miss in Tallahassee, Florida and leapfrogged its rival. The Bulldogs return to the poll for the first time since Week 5 and are ranked No. 19. Some other movers and shakers in the Pre-Championship Edition were San Francisco (No. 16 to No. 10), Air Force (No. 29 to No. 20) and Wisconsin (NR to No. 25). We’ll see all of those teams — and many more — at the 2016 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana on Saturday. Be sure to check back throughout this week as we preview NCAAs and bring you coverage from The Hooiser State.
Read the full article at: www.ustfccca.org
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