Eric Flores
ASC Sports
Information
NEW ORLEANS – The three-time defending NCAA champion Adams State College men’s cross country team continued their streak as the top team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) Central Regional and National rankings, once again at the top spot.
With this week’s rankings, the Grizzly men now extend their streak atop the Central Region to 31 straight polls dating back to the start of the 2008 season, and have now been the national No. 1 squad for 28 straight polls. The ASC men have appeared in the top two spots for 62 straight polls, since Nov. 8, 2004.
The regional and national rankings look similar at the top, as RMAC teams represent three of the top four spots in each. Western State, last year’s regional and natinal runner-up, is ranked directly behind ASC at No. 2 in both rankings, while Colorado Mines comes in at third in the Central Regional poll and fourth nationally. Grand Valley State (Mich.) represents the only non-RMAC squad among the top four nationally.
The Central Region’s fourth-ranked Augustana (S.D.) squad ranks sixth nationally, behind the West Region’s top-ranked Chico State (Calif.) at No. 5. The top six spots remain in order of finish from last year’s NCAA Division II Championship meet.
Also released on Wednesday was the fourth Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) release of the 2011 cross country season, by league officials. The release includes a list of upcoming meets, a look at regional and national polls, RMAC Runner of the Week and results of recent meets.
This past weekend, a group of Adams State harriers were in action for the second weekend in a row Saturday at the Colorado College Invitational, where junior Edwin Cruz (Del Norte, Colo.) led the Grizzly men to a perfect team score. Cruz’s posted winning time of 26:15 was actually run by a trio of Grizzlies, as he crossed the line at the same time as teammates Jovanny Godinez (Pacoima, Calif.) and Keegan Calmes (Wind Lake, Wis.).
Twenty seconds back of Cruz, Godinez and Pacoima was freshman Matt Daniels (Arlington, Texas) who crossed fourth in 26:36 on the 8k course.
This next weekend the Grizzlies will travel to Gunnison to participate in the Western State Mountaineer Open. And the Grizzlies will turn a lotof their attention to the Oct. 22 RMAC Championships and Nov. 5 Central Regional Championships in Denver, and ultimatley the Nov. 19 NCAA Division II National Championships in Spokane.
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