Well another weekend of races has concluded, which resulted in a lot of movement in this week's rankings. Most of the top teams last weekend either ran at Dellinger, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, or Paul Short. It wasn't a good weekend for Oklahoma State or Oregon, but teams like Washington, BYU, and Alabama made big jumps. Let's get on with the rankings!

(3) Stanford

 

Weekend Performance- Did not race.

 

Analysis- Clearly the voters liked what they saw two weeks ago at the Stanford Invitational. However, Stanford hasn’t really beaten anyone of significant importance yet unless you include an unranked Cal ‘B’ team. Stanford is a great team and I’m sure will be one of the top teams at NCAA’s this year, but I think a team should have to earn a #1 ranking.

 

(5) Northern Arizona

 

Weekend Performance- NAU was perhaps the most underrated team coming into NCAA’s this year. Sure they are a consistent top-10 team, but other than David McNeill and Diego Estrada, it is easy to overlook NAU. The Lumberjacks dispelled all of those myths this weekend by winning the Oklahoma State Jamboree without #1 runner David McNeill. NAU’s top finisher was actually junior college transfer Jordan Chipangama who won the race in 23:44.

 

Analysis- I believe NAU deserved to be ranked #1 this week after beating then #2 Ok. State, William & Mary, and DII Adams State. NAU had to work for this ranking, and despite not having their top runner showed up big time at the Jamboree. With the addition of Chipangama, NAU looks to be an early podium pick at NCAA’s.

 

(9) Alabama

 

Weekend Performance- The Crimson Tide sure put on a show out west Friday at the Dellinger Invitational. The Tide finished 1-2 in route to an 18-point victory over #1 Oregon. Alabama sat out their #2 runner Emmanuel Bor but still easily handled the Ducks.

 

Analysis- Alabama looks good early on and proved they can compete with the best of the best. However, I’m not completely sold on Alabama. They finished 10^th last year after going into NCAA’s ranked #5 so I would like to see if they can keep it up for another month. It will be interesting to see how they do against another quality field at Pre Nationals in two weeks.

 

(6) Colorado

 

Weekend Performance- The Buffaloes, lead by senior Kenyon Neuman, easily won the Rocky Mountain Shootout on Saturday.

 

Analysis- I am assuming Colorado moved up in the rankings this week just because Oregon and Oklahoma State moved down. I figured Oregon or BYU would be in this spot. CU ran well on Saturday, but what team wouldn’t when you’re racing Wyoming, Northern Colorado, and Air Force?

 

(2) Oklahoma State

 

Weekend Performance- The Cowboys had a rough showing at their home meet Saturday, losing to NAU, William & Mary, and DII Adams State. Coach Dave smith apparently thought the Cowboys would easily win the meet even without their top two, Vail and Fernandez.

 

Analysis- Sure this isn’t where Oklahoma State wanted to be in the rankings, but 7 weeks from now when it really matters, they’ll be fine. Assuming Vail and Fernandez finished anywhere in the top 10, the Cowboys would have easily won the Jamboree. I’m sure it was a better idea to rest those guys at this point in the season.

 

6.  (12) BYU

 

Weekend Performance- The Cougars ran very well at the Dellinger Invitational while taking down Oregon and Portland for a second place finish. Sophomore Miles Batty looked strong finishing third overall as BYU’s 2-5 runners were split up by only 11 seconds.

 

Analysis- BYU was able to jump six spots in the rankings after this weekend. It seemed as though they were at full strength, but this team looks like it has a lot of upside as three of the top five runners were sophomores. The Cougars should easily breeze through the Mountain Region en route to nationals, so they don’t have much to prove at Pre-Nationals.

 

7.  (1) Oregon

 

Weekend Performance- The Ducks had a chance to win their third straight Dellinger Invitational on Friday but fell short losing to Alabama, BYU, and beating Portland by just two points. Oregon had a rare off day as Luke Puskedra faded over the last mile to finish in 11^th, while A.J. Acosta and Diego Mercado were 23^rd and 25^th.

 

Analysis- With the loss of Galen Rupp and Shadrack Kiptoo, some drop off for the Ducks was expected this year, but no one would have called them getting third at Dellinger. Although the Ducks look vulnerable right now, they shouldn’t be counted out. They’re such a deep and talented team that’s always ready to roll once nationals comes around. That being said, we may see Oregon at the Pre-Nationals this year just to pick up some points for insurance purposes.

 

8.  (-) Portland

 

Weekend Performance- The Portland Pilots finished in a heartbreaking fourth place at Dellinger just two points behind Oregon. Although the Pilots lost to their neighbors to the south, the performance was quite good considering the circumstances. All American Alfred Kipchumba lead the race early on, only to fall twice in the final mile, which dropped him back to 6^th. Portland’s two other returners from NCAA’s last year also didn’t have great races, Tommy Betterbed (20^th) and Matt Frerker (51^st). Luckily the true freshman Joash Osoro (9^th) and Trevor Dunbar (10^th) ran great well.

 

Analysis- The Pilots should be pleased with where they’re at right now. Kipchumba is one of the top returners in the country this year, while Betterbed and Frerker are both reliable when nationals roll around. If Osoro and Dunbar continue to improve, Portland may see their best ever finish in school history this year.

 

9.  (13)William & Mary

 

Weekend Performance- Tiny but mighty William & Mary shocked a lot of people this week with their great run at the Jamboree. The Tribe had five runners in the top 20 and only lost to NAU by 7 points 52-59.

 

Analysis- William & Mary, like BYU shouldn’t have much trouble at regionals except with UVA or NC State, so expect them to run well at Pre-Nationals, but other than that they will be resting up for the Big Dance.

 

10. (-) Georgetown

 

Weekend Performance- Andrew Bumbalough lead the Hoyas to a 2^nd place finish at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational Saturday. Georgetown finished behind Big East rival Syracuse.

 

Analysis- Georgetown as probably thrilled with beating Wisconsin on their home course but not too pleased with losing to Syracuse. The Hoyas will be at Penn State instead of Pre-Nationals so they are unlikely to race against the top teams again until regionals.

Notes-

Teams are listed in accordance with their rankings ccording to the USATFCCA Poll.

The number directly to the left of the team is the previous week's ranking for that team.

I did not include "Next Weekend" section because most of these teams will rest this week.