NEW ORLEANS, La.--- Following a fifth-place finish at the Bronco Invitational, the Stan State men's cross country team moved up one position to No. 8 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II West Region rankings released Tuesday.

The Warriors, coached by Darren Holman, climbed from ninth after holding that position for three consecutive weeks. Stan State is one of five CCAA programs ranked among the West Region's top 10.

Chico State remains No. 1 in the region, followed by Western Washington, Cal Poly Pomona, Western Oregon and Cal State San Marcos. Alaska Anchorage is sixth, followed by Biola and Stan State. Cal Poly Humboldt entered the rankings at No. 9, while Northwest Nazarene dropped two positions to No. 10.

Last Time Out
Stan State is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Bronco Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale. The Warriors totaled 137 points in the 22-team Men's 8K Invitational, finishing behind No. 8 nationally ranked Chico State, Santa Clara, Nevada and Pepperdine.
Jackson Oliveira led the Warriors with a fourth-place finish in 23:40.6, crossing the line as the top collegiate finisher. The Oakdale native finished behind only three unattached competitors and improved his time by 24.9 seconds from his previous race at the Kim Duyst Twilight on Sept. 12.

His twin brother, Mason Oliveira, placed 13th in 24:01.2, while Tanner Gerhart finished 49th (24:44.0), Gurdave Pandher 58th (24:49.0) and freshman Jace Campos 61st (24:51.3) to complete the scoring five.

For his performance, Jackson Oliveira was named the FloCollege/CCAA Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week for the second time this season. He became the first Stan State men's cross country runner to earn two conference weekly honors in the same season, according to available conference records dating back to 2006.

National Rankings
The next USTFCCCA NCAA Division II national coaches' poll is scheduled to be released Wednesday, Oct. 21.

In the previous national poll, Chico State was ranked No. 8, Western Washington No. 10, Cal Poly Pomona tied for No. 18 and Western Oregon No. 23. Stan State was not ranked nationally.

Rankings Schedule
The remaining USTFCCCA West Region rankings are scheduled for Oct. 28, Nov. 10 and Nov. 25, with the final regional rankings set for Dec. 4. The remaining national coaches' polls are scheduled for Oct. 21, Oct. 28, Nov. 11 and Nov. 26, with the final national poll scheduled for Dec. 5.

Up Next
Stan State will begin postseason competition at the CCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the CSUSB Cross Country Course in San Bernardino. The men's race is scheduled for 10 a.m.

The NCAA Division II West Regional will follow on Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, with the men's race scheduled for 9 a.m. The NCAA Division II National Championship is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4, at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas.