By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA     September 22, 2015

NEW ORLEANS – The New Mexico women are more of a clear-cut favorite in the NCAA Division I National Coaches’ Poll, as released Tuesday afternoon by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

One week after earning its first No. 1 ranking in program history, the Lobos took one of Iowa State’s first-place votes. Nine voters ranked New Mexico at the top of their ballots, while the second-ranked Cyclones headed two.

National PDFs: Top 30 Summary | Week-by-Week 2015 | Week-by-Week All Time
Regional Rankings: Summary | Recap

The National Coaches’ Poll vote occurred before news came out on Tuesday morning that Iowa State’s seventh-place NCAA finisher Crystal Nelson will be redshirting the 2015 season.

NCAA DIVISION I NATIONAL COACHES POLL TOP 5 – WOMEN 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) New Mexico Iowa St. Colorado Georgetown Stanford View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

Defending national championMichigan State once again earned a first-place vote, but fell out of the top-5. Coloradoremained at No. 3, but bothGeorgetown (No. 4) andStanford (No. 5) leapfrogged the Spartans, who dominated their own invitational without the services of Lindsay Clark and Katie Landwehr.

Oregon and Providence remained at No. 7 and No. 8, while Michigan found its way back into the top-10 for the first time since Week 6 last year. The Wolverines secured the team title at the Vanderbilt Commodore Classic after putting four runners in the top-10, led by individual champion junior Erin Finn.

North Carolina State climbed three spots from No. 16 to No. 13 after a strong effort at the adidas XC Challenge. The Wolfpack were led by National Athlete of the Week Ryen Frazier, who won the individual title and set a course record in the process.

Outside of NC State, no team jumped more than two spots or fell more than two. Notre Dame, led by freshman Anna Rohrer, won the National Catholic Cross Country Invitational and is now No. 18 after spending time at No. 20 last week.

Next week might have a few more changes as two big meets take place this weekend. There will be five top-30 teams in the field at the Roy Griak Invitational (No. 2 Iowa State, No. 6 Michigan State, No. 20 Boise State, No. 26 Minnesota and No. 30 California), while three will be at the Coast-to-Coast Battle at Beantown (No. 4 Georgetown, No. 8 Providence, No. 19 Syracuse and No. 25 Dartmouth).

Most of these teams in the top-30 will also be represented come November at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.