NEW ORLEANS – The University of Sioux Falls Men's Cross Country Team, which recorded its best season in school history in 2018, has been ranked No. 12 in the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association Week 1 Coaches Poll, which was released Wednesday (Sept. 18). USF dropped to No. 12 after opening at a program-best No. 7 in the preseason rankings.
USF, which was recently ranked No. 5 in NCAA DII by the Flo Track website, was short-handed and finished fourth in the team standings at the Augustana Invitational on Sept. 6. However, USF has been idle since that meet and will next compete at the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 28 in St. Paul, Minn. USF was also ranked No. 3 in the Central Region this week.
At the Augustana Twilight, senior All-American
Mason Phillips, who was earlier named the NSIC Preseason Athlete of the Year, was the top NCAA DII runner at the Augustana Twilight and earned the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Men's Athlete of the Week honor on Sept. 10. He clocked 18:55.89 across the four-mile course at to finish second overall and finish as the top DII runner at the meet for a third straight year. A business administration major from Bailey, Colo., Phillips was one of three USF runners in the top 25 including senior and defending NSIC individual champion
Steven Brown, who was sixth, in leading to USF a fourth place finish with 129 points. Phillips has earned six combined All-American honors in cross country and track and field. With this week's recognition, Phillips has a combined 10 NSIC Weekly Athlete of the Week honors in track and field (three) and cross country (seven).
USTFCCCA NCAA DII National Coaches' Poll - Week 1
1. Colorado School of Mines (8), 200
2. Western Colorado, 188
3. Grand Valley State, 182
4. Chico State, 178
5. Adams State, 172
6. Missouri Southern, 159
7. Augustana (S.D.), 148
8. South Indiana, 142
9. Michigan Tech, 134
10. UC-Colorado Springs, 128
11. Simon Fraser, 112
12. Sioux Falls, 111
13. West Texas A&M, 103
14. Alaska Anchorage, 91
15. Saginaw Valley State (Mich.), 84
16. Lee (Tenn.), 72
17. Western Washington, 69
18. Cal State San Marcos, 61
19. Northwest Missouri State, 55
20. Charleston (W. Va.), 50
21. Queens (N.C.), 47
22. Walsh, 46
23. Biola (Calif.), 19
24. Southern Connecticut, 14
25. Colorado Christian, 10
Also receiving votes: Malone, 7; Mount Olive, 7; UC-San Diego, 5; Cedarville, 3; Alabama-Huntsville, 2; Edinboro, 1.
