Women Stay In Top Five in Division II

Scott Kretxmann
ASC Sports Information Director

NEW ORLEANS –  The Adams State College women’s cross country team continues to come in at No. 2 in the second set of U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) regional rankings, and at fifth in Division II, it was announced by the organization.
The Grizzlies, who were the No. 2 team in the region in the preseason USTFCCCA rankings, dropped to fifth last week and hold in that position in the second set of in-season rankings.
Rival Western State remains atop both sets of polls. The national top 10 saw just one change on the women’s side, as the University of Mary (N.D.) moved up one spot to 10th. Chico State (Calif.), Ferris State (Mich.) and Grand Valley State (Mich.) remain at Nos. 2-4 behind the Mountaineers and ahead of  ASC. Seventh place remains in the hands of Alaska-Anchorage, ahead of Central Region No. 3 Augustana (S.D.) Shippensburg (Pa.) and Queens (N.C.).
Mary also moved up one spot in the Central Region rankings to fifth this week. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) squad Colorado Mines made the biggest jump in the Central Region rankings, scooting up five spots to fifth, while also appearing in the national poll – at 25th – for the first time this season.
Regis and Colorado Mesa are the last of the RMAC contingent in the region’s top 10, staying at sixth and seventh, while Northern Sun (NSIC) members Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State (Minn.) and Winona State (Minn.) cap off the Central Region.
The Grizzlies sent a ‘B’ squad to Western State’s Mountaineer Open this past weekend, and ran their way to a second-place team finish. Redshirt-freshman Sarah Lange (Brattlesboro, Vt.) led the ASC pack with a seventh-place individual finish.
This weekend ASC will trek out to Stillwater, Okla. for the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree on Saturday, where the women’s race will get underway at 9:15 a.m. Central Time (8:15 a.m. Mountain Standard Time).