The Adams State women's squad, which had fallen out of the top two for the first all year after a runner-up finish at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Championships, regained the top spot in the women's poll on the strength of first-place team finish at the Central Regional Championship, where the Grizzlies were led by an individual win from senior Kristen McGlynn (Bailey, Colo.). The Grizzlies were bumped up from third back to first by that performance, while Western State, which passed ASC in the rankings after the league meet, dropped two spots to fourth.
With the retention of the top spot in the USTFCCCA poll, the Grizzlies have built upon their streak of being ranked first in the nation and regionally. Head coach Damon Martin's squad has now been the No. 1 team in the Central Region for 29 straight polls, dating back to the start of the 2008 season. The Grizzlies have not been ranked lower than second in the national poll since before Nov. 8, 2004 a span of 61 consecutive polls.
Saturday marked the third straight year that the Grizzlies have placed all seven of their runners on the USTFCCCA All-Region team, an accolade awarded to the top 15 runners at each regional meet, and this year were the only team in the nation to do so.
Senior Luke Cragg (Leeds, England), running at the regional meet for the first time in his career, led the Grizzlies with a third-place finish. Following Cragg and taking places No. 5-10 were sophomore Keegan Calmes (Wind Lake, Wisc.), senior Ryan McNiff (Los Alamos, N.M.), junior Nathan Sellers (La Crescenta, Calif.), sophomore Craig Huffer (Newry, Victoria, Australia), sophomore Edwin Cruz (Del Norte, Colo.) and senior Brandon Birdsong (Lubbock, Texas).
The Grizzlies 7-man pack time at the meet was just 18.2 seconds, and gave the Grizzlies a 29 point team score as well as a 29-point victory over runner-up Western State, matching Adams State's margin of victory at the 2006 Central Regional.
The Mountaineers remained in the No. 2 spot in the national rankings, a position they have held for the majority of the season. But the RMAC no longer holds the top three spots in the poll, as Midwest Regional champion and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) member Grand Valley State (Mich.) jumped from fifth to third in the polls, and dropped Colorado Mines to fourth.
West Regional runner-up Chico State (Calif.) fell one spot to No. 5 in the national rankings, while that region's team champion Alaska-Anchorage will enter the national meet ranked sixth.
Queens (N.C.) remains No. 7 in the poll, Lock Haven (Pa.) moved up to No. 8, while Shippensburg (Pa.) fell the furthest following regional weekend, falling three spots to ninth, and Western Washington holds on to the No. 10 position.
RMAC member Metro State, the fifth and final national meet qualifier form the Central Regional, held on to its 18th ranking in the poll, while Nebraska-Kearney, which fell out the rankings following the conference championships, returns to the poll at No. 22 but will not be head to the Division II Championships as a team. However, the Lopers will have two individuals competing.
Adams State will train through the Thanksgiving holiday week in preparation for the NCAA Division II National Championships which will be hosted by Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky. on Dec. 4. The cross country championships will be held as part of a Division II fall sports festival in Louisville that will see the division's national championships in field hockey, soccer and volleyball contested as well.
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