You may have heard of Adams State. Tucked away in Alamosa, Colo. and nestled at roughly 7,500 ft. lies a cross country program with rich history. Under head coach Damon Martin, the Adams State women’s program has captured 17 NCAA titles and three runner-up finishes. Only four times out of the last 21 years has this team not captured a first or second place trophy.

When Martin took over the men’s squad, they won six championships and finished runner-up six times. That’s three out of the last 15 years where they didn’t finish first or second.
The Grizzlies are dangerous and compete with Division I programs. #6 Tabor Stevens is the reigning NCAA DII XC Champion and finished 11th in the steeplechase at USATF Outdoors this summer, one of only two NCAA competitors to make the finals.

When old school meets new school in our Saucony Flo50 rankings, though, fast changes are ahead for Division II cross country.

Grand Valley State University, founded in 1960 and housing just under 25,000 students outside of Grand Rapids, Mich., is quickly rising to the top ranks of DII sports. The women’s cross country program has won championships the past two years. Over the past eight years, GVSU has won or finished 2nd six times. That’s impressive, and even more so for a school that was established just over 50 years ago.
The men’s recent achievements aren’t as fruitful as the women’s, seeing that their highest success so far has been finishing second to Adams State in 2013. Their future looks bright though.

At the Roy Griak Invitational, GVSU men’s and women’s teams finished 10th place in the Division I races. They put five runners in the top 75 in the men’s race, and four in the top 70 in the women’s Division I stacked fields.

The following weekend, the Lakers dominated the Gold races at Notre Dame, with #5 Alan Peterson finishing 2nd, and #1 Kendra Foley, #4 Allyson Winchester, #5 Jessica Janecke, and #10 Hannah Osborn finishing 4th, 3rd, 9th, and 16th, respectively.

If you’re ever talking about DII XC, chances are these two teams will be brought up. A lot. We won’t see them match up until the NCAA Championships, but it’s guaranteed to be a showdown between tradition and the new kids on the block.