Viking men's squad moves up six spots in latest USTFCCCA Division II coaches' poll...

The Western Washington men's squad in action
(Paul Merca photo)

NEW ORLEANS—On the strength of their third place finish at last Saturday’s Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships where the Vikings placed two runners in the top ten, Western Washington’s men's squad moved up six spots in the latest USTFCCCA Division II coaches poll released Tuesday.

The Vikings, who were ranked #21 in the country entering the championship race, were rewarded by the voters with their #15 ranking.  In fact, the Vikings were one of the biggest movers in the coaches’ poll, tying #16 UC-Colorado Springs for the biggest gainers in the national poll.

There was no change in the national top five after the conference championship weekend, as it remains Adams State, Colorado Mines, Grand Valley State, Chico State, and Western State.

The two GNAC teams ranked nationally include number 7 Alaska Anchorage, who won the conference crown on Saturday, and #11 Simon Fraser, who was ranked number 8 before the championship meet.

On the women’s side, Seattle Pacific moved up one spot to number 12 after their third place finish in the conference title meet.  Western Washington remained in the national top-25, but dropped seven spots to #21 after finishing fourth at the GNACs.

Familiar names are in the national top five this week, led by Adams State, Western State, Grand Valley State, U-Mary, and Chico State.

Alaska Anchorage is the highest GNAC school ranked at number 7 after winning its fourth straight conference crown, while Simon Fraser dropped two spots to number 10.

The next national poll will be released after the regional championships on November 17-18.  The NCAA Division II championships are December 1st in Pittsburgh, PA.

The USTFCCCA release is available here.

NOTE:  The USTFCCCA contributed to this report.