Follow our 2017 FloXC Countdown, where FloTrack ranks the top ten cross country teams and individuals in the NCAA this season which will be LIVE on FloTrack. The No. 7 men's spot goes to Missouri Southern, and here's why:

Probable Top Five:

SO Cody Berry (66th at '16 NCAA XC)
SR William Rush (71st at '16 NCAA XC)
SO Nickson Kiptoo (93rd at '16 NCAA XC)
JR Jared Haltom (103rd at '16 NCAA XC)
SO Mike Shanahan (126th at '16 NCAA XC)

Analysis:

It defies all logic that a team could lose the top runner in the country and yet find themselves ranked exactly where they finished at NCAAs last season. But such is the case for Missouri Southern, who will try to combat the departure of 2016 national champion Vincent Kiprop by relying on steady improvements from a young but experienced core. Losing Kiprop is painful, but with the Lions bringing back three men who finished in the top 100 at nationals, this team is equipped to remain very competitive. That, in addition to key transfers by other top-10 contending squads, leaves MSSU in a decent spot despite their subtraction.

Sophomore Cody Berry is the Lions' top returner with his 66th-place finish at NCAAs, but really either him or senior William Rush could occupy the No. 1 role in Kiprop's absence. Rush finished five spots behind Berry at nationals, but he beat him twice at conference and regionals and had the stronger track season of the two. Either way, MSSU will lean heavily on the pair to carry the team back to a top-10 finish.

The remaining three places in the top five should belong to three men that ran at NCAAs last fall. Nickson Kiptoo finished 93rd as a freshman and had a solid spring. Jared Haltom and Mike Shanahan should join him as the Lions' back-end scorers on a team that could surprise in the wake of Kiprop's departure. Incremental improvements across the board by a group that has already shown they can perform well at the highest level could make Missouri Southern quite formidable this November.

FULL MEN'S RANKINGS HERE