Five Teams In Contention For The Top Two Spots

By Adam Schneider of DyeStat

Five teams have separated themselves enough from the rest that it is unlikely any other team will finish in the top two. Defending champion New Mexico was the early season favorite, but Sept. 28 at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational, Colorado (80) and Boise State (91) beat the Lobos (130). At the NCAA Division 1 Pre-National meet Oct. 13, Arkansas prevailed by a 51-71 margin over Oregon in one race and New Mexico won the other.

At the conference championships three weeks ago, Oregon knocked off Colorado by a 32-48 margin at the Pac-12 Championships, and New Mexico edged Boise State by a 33-35 score at the Mountain West meet.

This past weekend at the regionals, Oregon got past Boise State by a 44-49 margin in the West. New Mexico secured a 41-53 victory over Colorado at the Mountain regional. During those two weekends, Arkansas dominated the SEC (five of the top nine spots) and the NCAA Division 1 South Central regional championships, where the Razorbacks had the top four finishers.   

Top 20 (Last week's ranking) - NCAA Division 1 Regional Performance on Nov. 9

1. New Mexico (2) First at Mountain Championships 

2. Oregon (1) First at West Championships

3. Boise State (5) Second at West Championships

4. Arkansas (4) First at South Central Championships

5. Colorado (3) Second at Mountain Championships

6. Villanova (6) First at Mid-Atlantic Championships

7. Michigan (7) First at Great Lakes Championships

8. Stanford (8) Third at West Championships

9. Wisconsin (11) Second at Great Lakes Championships

10. Michigan State (10) Third at Great Lakes Championships

11. North Carolina State (12) First at Southeast Championships

12. BYU (9) Third at Mountain Championships

13. Notre Dame (13) Fourth at Great Lakes Championships

14. Washington (14) Fourth at West Championships

15. Furman (19) Second at Southeast Championships

16. Indiana (17) Fifth at Great Lakes Championships

17. Iowa State (18) First at Midwest Championships

18. Florida State (NR) First at South Championships

19. Florida (15) Second at South Championships

20. Portland (20) Fifth at West Championships

Other Team Entries - Columbia, Mississippi, Minnesota, Southern Utah, Princeton, Georgia Tech, Penn State (16), Oklahoma State, Dartmouth, Oregon State, Texas