Oct 08, 2007

Division I

Division I National Rankings

Oct. 9, 2007

Pre-Nationals Event to Spotlight 26 Ranked Squads

NEW ORLEANS – Defending NCAA men’s cross country champion Colorado is one of 26 ranked teams scheduled to compete in Saturday’s Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind.

Colorado is third in the Division I men’s rankings released today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Oregon is ranked No. 1 for the second straight week. The Ducks received 10 of the first-place votes in this week’s poll.

Wisconsin received one first-place vote and is ranked No. 2. Colorado received the remaining two first-place votes. Wisconsin and Colorado were tied for second in the Oct. 2 poll.

This week’s top 10 consists of Oregon, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iona, Stanford, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Alabama, Arkansas and North Carolina State.

No. 4 Iona and fifth-ranked Stanford each moved up one spot in this week’s poll. Oklahoma State dropped two spots to No. 6.

Oregon and Arkansas are the only top 10 teams not scheduled to compete in Saturday’s Pre-Nationals. The Pre-Nationals are held on the LaVern Gibson Course in Terre Haute, site of the 2007 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships to be held Monday, Nov. 19.

The difference is that the two Pre-National races – the White and Blue races – are 8,000 meters long. The NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Championships are held on a 10,000-meter course.

At last year’s Pre-Nationals, Colorado won the Blue race while Iona finished first in the White race. Liberty’s Josh McDougal was the top individual finisher in the White race. McDougal will be shooting for his third straight Pre-Nationals win this weekend.

Other top individuals entered in this weekend’s event are Northern Arizona’s Lopez Lomong, Colorado’s Brent Vaughn, Stanford’s Neftalem Araia and Minnesota’s Chris Rombough.

The voting panel for the USTFCCCA Division I men’s poll consists of nine elected regional representatives and four at-large members of the USTFCCCA. The rankings are compiled by Don Kopriva.

Stanford is ranked first in this week’s Division I women’s poll.

NCAA Division I men’s cross country rankings

Oct. 9, 2007

(first-place votes and total points)

Team	Points	Previous
1. Oregon (10)	385	1
2. Wisconsin (1)	372	2—tie
3. Colorado (2)	370	2—tie
4. Iona	340	5
5. Stanford	329	6
6. Oklahoma State	323	4
7. Notre Dame	309	7
8. Alabama	295	8
9. Arkansas	287	9
10. North Carolina State	253	10
11. Texas	243	11
12. Georgetown	238	12
13. Portland	224	13
14. Providence	218	14
15. Northern Arizona	199	15
16. William & Mary	189	16
17. Louisville	178	17
18. Michigan	153	19
19. UCLA	150	18
20. (tie) Arizona State	132	20
20. (tie) UTEP	132	21
22. Villanova	109	22
23. Iowa State	108	23
24. Minnesota	85	25
25. Florida State	78	24
26. Weber State	77	26
27. Washington	61	27
28. Syracuse	46	28
29. Virginia	40	29
30. Cal Poly	35	30

Also receiving votes: Florida 26, BYU 18, Tulsa 16, Princeton 15, Eastern Michigan 6, West Virginia 4, Indiana 1, Texas A&M 1.

NCAA Division I Women’s Championship Preview Set for Saturday

NEW ORLEANS – After a quiet weekend, the pace quickens Saturday when 23 of the top 30 teams in Division I women’s cross country compete at the Pre-Nationals event in Terre Haute, Ind.

Top-ranked Stanford and second-ranked Colorado are among the teams competing in the traditional mid-October event that gives runners a chance to test the same course used for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships which will be contested Nov. 19.

Saturday’s Pre-Nationals will feature separate “White” and “Blue” races over the 6,000- meter course at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. Stanford and North Carolina State were the Pre-National team winners last year.

With most teams resting up for this weekend’s action, there weren’t any significant changes in the Division I women’s rankings released today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Defending NCAA champion Stanford received 10 of 13 first-place votes to rank No. 1 for the fourth straight week. Colorado received the remaining three first-place votes.

Rounding out the top 10 behind Stanford and Colorado in this week’s rankings are Oregon, Minnesota, Arkansas, Arizona State, Rice, Princeton, Michigan State and Illinois.

Florida moved up two spots in this week’s poll to No. 20. Wisconsin (25) and North Carolina State (26) switched positions from the Oct. 2 poll.

The Pre-Nationals field features such individual standouts as Arianna Lambie of Stanford, Jenny Barringer of Colorado, Lindsay Donaldson of Yale and Diane Nukuri of Iowa.

The only teams in this week’s top 30 that aren’t scheduled to compete in the Pre-Nationals are Oregon, Arkansas, Duke, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Texas Tech and Penn State.

The voting panel for the Division I women's poll consists of nine elected regional representatives and four at-large USTFCCCA members. The rankings are compiled by Jesse Rosen.

Oregon is ranked first in this week’s Division I men’s poll.

NCAA Division I women’s cross country rankings

Oct. 9, 2007

(first-place votes and total votes)

Team	Points	Previous
1. Stanford (10)	387	1.
2. Colorado (3)	373	2.
3. Oregon	361	3.
4. Minnesota	349	4.
5. Arkansas	330	5.
6. Arizona State	328	6.
7. Rice	302	7.
8. Princeton	296	8.
9. Michigan State	289	9.
10. Illinois	272	10.
11. Florida State	256	11.
12. Washington	250	12.
13. Michigan	228	13.
14. Colorado State	225	14.
15. BYU	185	16.
16. Boston College	177	15.
17. Duke	162	17.
18. Providence	145	18.
19. Virginia Tech	141	19.
20. Florida	132	22.
21. West Virginia	130	20.
22. Georgetown	111	21.
23. Iowa	109	23.
24. Texas Tech	90	24.
25. Wisconsin	78	26.
26. North Carolina State	72	25.
27. UC-Santa Barbara	66	27.
28. Georgia	64	28.
29. Nebraska	41	29.
30. Penn State	36	30.

Also receiving votes: Virginia 19, Baylor 15, Stony Brook 13, Portland 7, Syracuse 3, Northern Arizona 2, UC Riverside 1.

Division I Regional Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – There were very few changes across the board this week in the Division I men’s and women’s cross country regional rankings announced today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Several teams either took the week off or ran a “B” squad which was clearly reflected in the rankings this week. One notable change did come in the men’s Southeast region as William and Mary becomes the new No. 1 team. The Tribe is followed by Louisville at No. 2 and North Carolina State at No. 3. The change comes despite all three teams having off this past weekend.

All nine men’s No. 1’s remained the same this week.

On the women’s side Tulane entered the South Central region top ten this week at No. 8 after two impressive showings. The Green Wave finished first at LSU on Sept. 22and finished fifth at Auburn on Sept. 29.

All nine women’s No. 1’s remained the same this week as well.

Men’s Regional Rankings | Women's Regional Rankings

Men's Div. I Great Lakes Regional Rankings

Week 3 - Oct. 8

1. Wisconsin

2. Notre Dame

3. Michigan

4. Eastern Michigan

5. Indiana

6. Ohio State

7. Michigan State

8. Indiana State

9. Miami (Oh.)

10. Butler

11. Marquette

12. Cincinnati

13. Ohio

14. Central Michigan

15. Akron

Women's Div. I Great Lakes Regional Rankings

Week 3 - Oct. 8

1. Michigan State

2. Michigan

3. Wisconsin

4. Marquette

5. Notre Dame

6. Butler

7. Miami (Oh.)

8. Ohio

9. Akron

10. Purdue

11. Cincinnati

12. Ball State

13. Central Michigan

14. Toledo

15. Bowling Green

Division II

NEW ORLEANS – There were very few changes this week to the NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s cross country regional rankings which were announced today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Some of the changes in the men’s rankings were Tiffin (No. 8) in the Great Lakes region, Christian Brothers moving up five spots to No. 4 in the South region, while Southern Arkansas (No. 5) and Clayton State (No. 9) both made their first appearances this week in the South. Texas A&M-Commerce at No. 10 in the South Central and East Stroudsburg at No. 10 in the East. UMASS-Lowell takes over as the new top-ranked team in the Northeast as they defeated Stonehill at the New England Championships.

On the women’s side some notable changes were Tampa moving up to No. 1 in the South after winning the Disney World Classic this past weekend. Converse moves into the top ten this week at No. 7 in the Southeast for their first ranking in 2007.

Great Lakes Men Div II		Great Lakes Women Div II
1. Grand Valley State		1. Grand Valley State
2. Southern Indiana		2. Wisconsin-Parkside
3. Ashland		3. Wayne State University
4. Missouri-Rolla		4. Southern Indiana
5. Northern Kentucky		5. Findlay
6. Hillsdale		6. Ferris State
7. Saginaw Valley State		7. Northern Michigan
8. Tiffin		8. Saginaw Valley State
9. Wayne State University		9. Northern Kentucky
10. Ferris State		10. Bellarmine

Division III

Division III National Rankings

Oct. 10, 2007

Calvin a unanimous pick as No. 1 in Division III men’s cross country poll

NEW ORLEANS – With the NCAA Championships a little over one month away, defending men’s champion Calvin College continues its steady lead over the Division III pack.

The Knights were ranked No. 1 throughout the 2006 season and are on their way to accomplishing the same this year. Calvin received all eight first-place votes in the latest poll released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will be held Nov. 17 in Northfield, Minn. Calvin is favored to win its fifth men’s NCAA title in eight years.

Following Calvin in this week’s top 10 are NYU, Wisconsin-La Crosse, Willamette, SUNY Cortland, Haverford, St. John’s (Minn.) and Wisconsin-Platteville. Augustana (Ill.) and North Central are tied for ninth.

The second 10 consists of Ohio Northern, St. Lawrence, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Williams, Allegheny, SUNY Geneseo, Nebraska Wesleyan, Carnegie Mellon, Trinity (Conn.) and the College of New Jersey.

Wartburg made the biggest jump in this week’s poll, climbing three spots to No. 22.

The Division III men’s and women’s cross country rankings are determined by a committee comprised of coaches representing the eight different regions of the country.

Amherst is ranked No. 1 in this week’s women’s poll.

USTFCCCA Division III men’s cross country poll

Oct. 10, 2007

(first place votes in parenthesis)

Team	Points	Previous
1. Calvin College (8)	280	1
2. New York University	272	2
3. Wisconsin-La Crosse	264	3
4. Willamette University	256	4
5. SUNY Cortland	247	5
6. Haverford College	239	6
7. St. John's University	234	7
8. Wisconsin-Platteville	222	9
9. (tie) North Central College	210	10
9. (tie) Augustana College (Ill.)	210	8
11. Ohio Northern University	204	11
12. Saint Lawrence University	189	12
13. Wisconsin-Stevens Point	180	13
14. Williams College	175	16
15. Allegheny College	174	14
16. SUNY Geneseo	160	15
17. Nebraska Wesleyan University	145	17
18. Carnegie Mellon University	139	18
19. Trinity College (Conn.)	131	19
20. College of New Jersey	129	21
21. Wheaton (Ill.) College	121	20
22. Wartburg College	109	25
23. Mount Union College	106	22
24. Occidental College	96	23
25. Amherst College	90	26
26. Carleton College	78	27
27. Case Western Reserve University	76	24
28. Dickinson College	56	28
29. MIT	53	29
30. (tie) University of Texas- Tyler	45	30
30. (tie) Colorado College	45	31
32. Heidelberg College	43	32
33. Washington University	20	33
34. Hamline University	13	35
35. Wisconsin-Oshkosh	11	34

Others Receiving Votes: Johns Hopkins 10, Grinnell 5, Emory 3 and Luther 1.

Oct. 10, 2007

Amherst, Calvin remain 1-2 in Division III women’s cross country poll

NEW ORLEANS – A pair of second-place finishes didn’t alter the top two positions in the latest Division III women’s cross country poll.

With strong showings against larger schools, Amherst and Calvin remained first and second in the rankings released today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Top-ranked Amherst finished second out of 44 teams at Saturday’s Open New England Championships, trailing only Division I Quinnipiac.

Second-ranked Calvin placed second to Division II power Grand Valley State at the Michigan Intercollegiates.

Amherst received all eight first-place votes in this week’s poll. Following the Lord Jeffs in the top 10 are Calvin, Washington (Mo.), SUNY Geneseo, Williams, SUNY Plattsburgh, Case Western Reserve, Willamette, Wisconsin-Platteville and Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

The second 10 consists of Nebraska Wesleyan, Dickinson, DePauw, Wisconsin-La Crosse, St. Olaf, Ithaca, Haverford, MIT, Bowdoin and Middlebury.

DePauw, Bowdoin and Baldwin Wallace made the biggest jumps from last week. DePauw climbed three spots to No. 13 following its second-place finish at the Border War Championships in Edwardsville, Ill.

Bowdoin jumped eight spots to No. 19 after placing eighth at the New England Championships. The Polar Bears finished fourth among Division III schools, trailing Amherst, Williams and MIT.

Baldwin Wallace is ranked for the first time this season at No. 31. The Yellow Jackets placed second at the All-Ohio Division III meet behind No. 7 Case Western Reserve.