NEW ORLEANS - Entering the 2018 campaign the Adams State University Men's and Women's Cross Country teams will start where they left off in 2017, as the top teams in Division II. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has the Grizzlies ranked No. 1 in both preseason polls as announced on Wednesday afternoon.
On the men's side, Adams State enters the 2018 season looking to claim its sixth title in seven years and 14th overall. The Grizzlies bring back a core group of runners from 2017, including four of their top five performers from the 2017 NCAA-II National Championships in
Kale Adams,
Elias Gedyon,
Joshua Joseph, and
Sydney Gidabuday. Adams State earned all eight first-place votes to go along with 200 points to claim the No. 1 spot in the preseason poll.
The Grizzlies 2017 national championship run saw them ranked as the No. 1 team in Division II in all but one national ranking during the season. At the national meet, Adams was the top individual finisher for the Grizzlies placing third. He was followed by Gedyon (seventh), Joseph (ninth), and Gidabuday (17th) as Adams State totaled 44 points to hold off Grand Valley State who scored 64 points to place second.
Rounding out the top-five behind the Grizzlies is Grand Valley State, Colorado School of Mines, Chico State, and Western State Colorado. Also making the top-25 out of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference was Colorado State-Pueblo at No. 8. The RMAC is well represented to start the 2018 season with four teams being nationally ranked, all of which that are in the top-10.
For the Adams State women, they come into 2018 looking for their third title in four years and 18th overall. This season the Grizzlies will rely on a young core that is talented and already has experience at the national stage thanks in part to their 2017 national championship run. Included in that core from 2017 is
Eilish Flanagan,
Roisin Flanagan,
Haleigh Hunter-Galvan, and
Kaylee Bogina. The women also totaled 200 points and received all eight first-place votes in their respective preseason poll.
The Adams State women's national title run was led by the RMAC Runner of the Year,
Eilish Flanagan. She placed ninth last year at the national meet and was followed by her sister Roisin (21st), Hunter-Galvan (46th), and Bogina (51st). The Adams State women tallied 126 points to beat out Grand Valley State (137 points) for the national crown. Overall, the women bring back six of their top-seven runners from 2017 and looked poised to defend their title, just like the men.
Rounding out the top-five for the women behind the Grizzlies is Grand Valley State, Western State Colorado, Mary, and Hillsdale. Other RMAC schools represented in the top-25 are Colorado School of Mines (No. 8) and University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (No. 15).
Adams State gets it season underway next weekend on Saturday, Sept. 8, as they will host the 25th Annual Joe I. Vigil Open at the Cattails Golf Course in Alamosa. The men's 8K race will get started at 8:45 a.m., while the women's 5K race will begin at 9:55 a.m.
