D2 NCAA XC

https://www.tfrrs.org/results/xc/23293/NCAA_Division_II_Cross_Country_Championships

Incredible work from you "factcheck" utterly impressed.

I’m honestly still trying to process everything, and it’s hard not to feel upset. Two days ago just wasn’t my best day, and knowing how close we were to nationals makes it sting even more. I keep replaying the race in my head, thinking about what I could have done differently, and it’s a tough feeling to sit with.
At the same time, I’m really proud of our team. We finished 7th — our best regional finish since 2015 — and every scoring runner ran a 10K PR. We improved every week this season, showed up when it mattered, and truly believed we had earned a shot at nationals. South Central is one of the deepest regions in the country, and it feels like that depth worked against us instead of being rewarded.
What makes it even more frustrating is the NCAA system itself. The way teams get selected, who gets in, who gets left out — it’s confusing, and it often feels like the system doesn’t value the teams that actually perform well at regionals. MSUD, Fort Lewis, and Tiffin were all affected by flaws in the selection criteria, where teams get rewarded for avoiding tough competition outside their region. That’s not how this sport should work, and it makes it hard not to feel like all the hard work we put in this season was overlooked.
I respect the teams that made it, and I know Augustana and others earned their spots, but seeing how the system works makes it even harder to accept being left out. The gap ratios and Step 2 rules just don’t reflect the reality of competing in one of the most competitive regions in the country. It feels like strong performances were penalized, and that’s a tough pill to swallow.
I’m proud of what we accomplished, but I can’t hide that this one hurts. It’s frustrating, confusing, and emotionally draining, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.

South Central region is tough. But in D2 the selection system is a computer program. If you’re gonna be an At-Large team you have to go out of region and run well during the regular season to put yourself in a good position, and then you have to go run well at regionals.

Hey, I’m not totally sure I understand—could you explain what you mean about having to go out of region to put yourself in a good position?”

We finished 7th as a team at the NCAA Division II South Central Region Cross Country Championships on Nov 8, 2025. I ran the 10K in 31:36.2, placing 34th overall. Every scoring runner on our team ran a personal best, and this was our best regional finish since 2015. We gave it everything and being so close to nationals but missing out is really tough. I’m proud of the team, but honestly, it’s heartbreaking and frustrating — this one really hurts.

my goal is becoming all American

Essentially here is what happened. The computer selected the first six at-large teams in order based on the criteria. No controversy there.

In the seventh round - of the eight teams being compared, five were eliminated by direct or second degree losses leaving Alabama-Huntsville (4th in the South), MSUD (7th in the South-Central) and Augustana (5th in the Central). Those three schools had no head-to-head competitions and no second degree losses over each other, therefore they were tied.

They moved to step 2 (ratio point gap) which could not be used in that round because Alabama-Huntsville was a 4th place team (can not be used to compare 4th to 3rd because 3rd is an automatic team and may not be considered as good as an at-large selected team. The ratio point gap can only be used for comparing 5th to 4th in a region and down).

Then to step 3 with common non-D2 opponents - again could not be used.

So then step 4 it goes to the committee...

Looks like the committee decided round 7 and selected Alabama-Huntsville (over Augustana and MSUD), which then freed up round 8 where the point gap ratio could then be used to compare Augustana to PSU (4th in the Central) and MSUD to UCCS (6th in the South-Central) thus setting off the consecutive selections in round 9 (UNK) and round 10 (OBU) out of the Central Region due to point gap ratio.

If MSUD had been selected in round 7 by the committee over Alabama-Huntsville then in round 8 it would have been Augustana (.929) by point gap ratio over Ft Lewis (.944) - and then Alabama Huntsville would have been selected in round 10. MSUD, Ft.Lewis and Alabama-Huntsville were all over Tiffin - 4th in Midwest Region (due to direct loss to both Ft. Lewis and Alabama-Huntsville)

So even though the order would've been different, both Alabama-Huntsville and Augustana would have made it in either way, but it basically came down to UNK and OBU were advancing by the point gap ratio or MSUD and Ft. Lewis were advancing by wins depending on the selection in round 7th.

Tough situation. Could be wrong, but it looks like that is what happened.

*to clarify Ft. Lewis and Alabama-Huntsville would have been selected in round 9 and 10...

(If the committee selected MSUD in round 7 then...)

7) MSUD

8) Augustana (better point gap ratio than Ft. Lewis)

9 / 10 Ft. Lewis (direct win over Tiffin, etc.)

9 / 10 Alabama-Huntsville (direct win over Tiffin, etc.)

11) Tiffin

Franklin Pierce FTW

Get rid of the 3 team auto qualifiers. We are the only division that goes that deep for auto bids. I'd rather match the other division's by only having 32 teams if it meant keeping them out of the meet. It's ridiculous that there will be a couple of teams with all their athletes clogging up the back of the field. These teams will be scoring over 1000 points this weekend.....they need to get booted out ASAP.

Would be interesting to see who the qualifying teams would’ve been this year if D2 only took 1 or 2 from each region. Anyone have the time/patience to do the leg work?