NEW ORLEANS – For the first time since the year 2000, a team from outside the state of Colorado will enter the men’s NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships as the top-ranked team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Coaches’ Poll.

The Grand Valley State men have inched past two-time defending national champion Adams State into narrow pre-meet favorite status in the final poll of the season released Tuesday afternoon ahead of the championships on December 6 in Louisville, Kentucky.

The No. 1 rank for the Lakers is their first since at least the year 2000, which marks the beginning of the USTFCCCA polling archives. This is only the third time in the past 53 editions of the poll Adams State has not been No. 1

GVSU’s men joined their two-time defending national women’s champion GVSU teammates atop the polls. The final women’s National Coaches’ Poll, which can be viewed here, was also released Tuesday afternoon.