The top of the NCAA Division II cross country mountain doesn’t shift much over the offseason.
Defending men’s champion Adams State and women’s champion Grand Valley State were ranked first in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Preseason National Coaches Poll released Wednesday.
Five Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams made the men’s top-20:
2. Western State.
6. Colorado Mines.
12. UC-Colorado Springs.
20. Fort Lewis College.
No. 19 Malone made the preseason rankings in its first year of Division II membership.
Adams State has won five out of the last six national championships, and the Grizzlies received all eight first-place votes. The Alamosa school returns five of its top seven runners from the 2012 championship roster.
This is the fourth consecutive preseason Adams State is ranked No. 1.
Four RMAC teams made the women’s poll:
2. Adams State.
3. Western State.
8. UC-Colorado Springs.
23. Metro State.
Defending champion Grand Valley State holds two of the last three national championship trophies and returns five point-scorers from last year’s championship roster.
The Lakers received seven of the eight available first-place votes; Adams State received the other vote.
The NCAA Division II National Championships will take place Nov. 23 in Spokane, Wash.
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Grizzlies sit atop the RMAC polls
Adams State ruled the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference preseason rankings.
Both the Grizzlies’ men’s and women’s teams were picked first in their respective coaches’ polls Wednesday.
The men’s team received 12 out of 13 first-place votes, while the women’s team received 12 out of 14.
Adams State junior Tabor Stevens, the 2012 RMAC cross country champion, was the Preseason Runner of the Year and a unanimous choice for the Preseason All-RMAC team.
Adams State senior Kelly Lamb was picked the Preseason Runner of the Year on the women’s side.
The Fort Lewis College men were picked fifth after a seventh-place finish last year. The Skyhawks’ women’s team was voted eighth, a drop from last year’s fifth-place finish.
Both FLC teams will open the season at the Joe Vigil Open Invite on Sept. 7 in Alamosa.
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