After finishing third over the weekend at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships, the University of Missouri-Rolla men's cross country team dropped six spots to No. 24 in the new NCAA Division II rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Miners, who are ranked for the sixth week in succession, finished behind Southern Indiana and Northern Kentucky at the conference meet over the weekend. Despite winning the meet, Southern Indiana fell from seventh to eighth this week while NKU vaulted over the Miners to the No. 17 spot in the new rankings.
Defending national champion Abilene Christian continues to head the rankings this week, followed by Adams State, Western State and Grand Valley State.
Grand Valley State will be among those that the Miners will contend with on Nov. 3 when they compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Edwardsville, Ill. If UMR can finish among the top four teams at that meet, it will earn a berth to the NCAA Division II Championships in Joplin, Mo., on Nov. 17.
The Great Lakes region currently has six teams among the Top 25, including No. 20 Ashland and No. 23 Saginaw Valley State.
USTFCCCA Division II Men's Cross Country Rankings (Oct. 24, 2007)
1. Abilene Christian
2. Adams State
3. Western State
4. Grand Valley State
5. Slippery Rock
6. Chico State
7. Minnesota State
8. Southern Indiana
9. Edinboro
10. Colorado School of Mines
11. Western Washington
12. UMASS-Lowell
13. Stonehill
14. Metro State
15. New Mexico Highlands
16. Missouri Southern State
17. Northern Kentucky
18. Southwest Baptist
19. Wayne State University
20. Ashland
21. Southern Connecticut
22. Augustana (S.D.)
23. Saginaw Valley
24. Missouri-Rolla
25. Minnesota-Duluth
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