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Cross-country team comes second at home meet, portrays itself as first

The University of Nevada, Los Vegas Rebels lost their cross-country home meet to the Division II team from Anchorage, Alaska

Photo: UNLV.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels lost their cross-country home meet to the Division II team from Anchorage, Alaska. But in the university’s race recap, they called themselves the Division I winners, and posted a picture hoisting a trophy. 

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While UNLV were the Division I winners, their Division II competitors ran faster. The final team times were 1:37.15 for Alaska-Anchorage and 1:40.34 for UNLV. Alaska-Anchorage runners also took first and second in the individual women’s competition. Emmanuelah Chelimo won in 18:54.70, and Nancy Jeptoo was second in 18:58.30. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoA2biRHlXF/?hl=en&taken-by=unlvtrackandcc

The 2017-2018 NCAA handbook does not include rules regarding separation of divisions. Section three, regarding cross-country team scoring states: 

a. Only the first seven runners on any one team may be used in scoring places. An order for team-finish placing is established by removing all runners behind the top seven finishers on each team. Those teams not finishing at least five runners likewise shall not be included in the order of team finish. 
b. The score shall be determined by totaling the points (place finish) of the first five runners of each team to finish. The team scoring the lower number of points shall be the winner.
c. Although the sixth and seventh runners of a team to finish do not score points toward their team’s total, their places, if better than those of any of the first five of an opposing team, serve to increase the team score of the opponents.
d. Ties in team scoring shall be broken by comparing in order the place finish of each of the five scoring members of the tied teams. The team with the majority of winning comparisons shall be awarded the higher place.
e. Teams that start at least five runners and have fewer than five runners finish the race shall be listed. 

These rules would change at a championships or qualifying meet, where Division I, II, and III are typically separated. In the results from the UNLV meet, Division I and Division II teams are listed together. 

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