USTFCCCA: DI Coaches' Poll Jostled by Previous Weekend Results

Oct 16, 2012 by FloTrack Staff

DI Coaches’ Poll Jostled by Previous Weekend Results

October 16, 2012

NEW ORLEANS – The most changes this season to the NCAA Division I cross country coaches’ poll have occurred in the latest update published by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Last weekend’s results in several inter-regional competitions have forced big shifts to the national paradigm. Oklahoma State is new No. 1 men’s team according to the poll, unseating Wisconsin who dropped to No. 20. Florida State’s women keeps their top-ranked status for the second-straight week, but have new visitors to the top three with No. 2 Iowa State and No. 3 Oregon standing by.

The main attention in DI now turns to the conference championship meets which get underway on Friday, October 26.

MEN

Oklahoma State returns to the No. 1 perch, claiming six of 12 first-place votes, after their impressive showing at the Chile Pepper Invitational. The Cowboys placed six runners in the top ten and are back to the top for the first time since 2011. Oklahoma State won NCAA titles in 2009 and 2010.

No. 2 Colorado is ranked among the top two for the first time since 2007. The Buffaloes are bringing a familiar feeling to the cross country landscape with their winning of the Pre-National Invitational this past weekend. Among those CU defeated was then-No. 3 BYU. Colorado last won the NCAA title in 2006.

The Pac-12 now has two of the top three as No. 3 Stanford is back in the fold. The Cardinal was most impressive in their victory at Wisconsin’s adidas Invitational. In a 45-team field, Stanford defeated six nationally-ranked top-ten teams with twins Jim and Joe Rosa leading the way.

At No. 10, Columbia jumped seven spots to reach another milestone in their history. The Lions have never been ranked so high in the national poll, but earned the right after placing fifth at the Wisconsin meet.

Eastern Kentucky has also reached the peak of their poll standing to date at No. 13. The Colonials placed ninth at Wisconsin.

Four teams are making their season debuts in the poll: No. 18 Duke, No. 21 Virginia Tech, No. 25 Iowa State, and No. 30 Kansas. For Duke and Iowa State, they return to the poll for the first time since 2010. Kansas is listed for the first time since 2006. And, Virginia Tech is making their first appearance (since at least 1998) in the coaches’ top 30. The Hokies last made an NCAA Championship showing in 1987 and finished fourth.

The Big 12 is now the top conference with five teams ranked in the national top 30. Along with top-ranked Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Kansas, the league has No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 7 Texas ranked. The Pac-12 follows with four teams listed.

WOMEN

A solid win at the Pre-National Invitational helped keep the Florida State women at No. 1. Led by Violah Lagat and Colleen Quigley at the “Pre-Nats”, FSU defeated 37 teams, including six that where nationally-ranked.

Iowa State moves to No. 2 – their all-time best ranking (since at least 1995). The Cyclones, led by a 2-4 finish by Betsy Saina and Meaghan Nelson, easily defeated 47 other teams at the Wisconsin meet. ISU finished seventh at last year’s NCAA meet.

No. 11 Duke is making their debut in the poll along with No. 24 UCLA. The Bruins were last ranked in the poll in 2004, but return to the ranks after finishing 15th in the highly-competitive Wisconsin meet. No. 29 Connecticut is also ranked for the first time this year.

The Pac-12 has a solid group of six ranked teams to lead all of the nation’s conferences. Four of the squads are in the top six with Oregon, Stanford, Arizona, and Washington taking spots three through six.

USTFCCCA
NCAA Division I
Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll
2012 Week #5 -- October 16
next poll: October 30 (next week off)

Rank	Institution (FPV)	Points	Region	Conference	*Cross Country Coach (Yr)**	Last Week
1	Oklahoma State (6)	353	Midwest	Big 12	Dave Smith (7th)	2
2	Colorado (4)	343	Mountain	Pac-12	Mark Wetmore (18th)	7
3	Stanford (2)	339	West	Pac-12	Chris Miltenberg (1st)	8
4	Iona	322	Northeast	Metro Atlantic	Ricardo Santos (5th)	5
5	BYU	316	Mountain	West Coast	Ed Eyestone (13th)	3
6	Oklahoma	306	Midwest	Big 12	Martin Smith (8th)	4
7	Texas	283	South Central	Big 12	John Hayes (6th)	22
8	Oregon	275	West	Pac-12	Robert Johnson (1st)	15
9	Arkansas	257	South Central	SEC	Chris Bucknam (5th)	19
10	Columbia	251	Northeast	Ivy	Willy Wood (19th)	17
11	Michigan	227	Great Lakes	Big Ten	Alex Gibby (3rd)	24
12	New Mexico	206	Mountain	Mountain West	Joe Franklin (6th)	28
13	Eastern Kentucky	198	Southeast	Ohio Valley	Rick Erdmann (34th)	20
14	Florida State	186	South	ACC	Bob Braman (13th)	14
15	UCLA	182	West	Pac-12	Mike Maynard (4th)	27
16	Syracuse	165	Northeast	Big East	Chris Fox (8th)	10
17	Portland	159	West	West Coast	Rob Conner (23rd)	5
18	Duke	146	Southeast	ACC	Norm Ogilvie (22nd)	NR
19	Tulsa	139	Midwest	Conference USA	Steve Gulley (11th)	9
20	Wisconsin	134	Great Lakes	Big Ten	Mick Byrne (5th)	1
21	Virginia Tech	131	Southeast	ACC	Dave Cianelli (12th)	RV
22	Northern Arizona	126	Mountain	Big Sky	Eric Heins (6th)	18
23	Princeton	115	Mid-Atlantic	Ivy	Jason Vigilante (1st)	11
24	Indiana	103	Great Lakes	Big Ten	Ron Helmer (6th)	26
25	Iowa State	80	Midwest	Big 12	Corey Ihmels (6th)	RV
25	Villanova	80	Mid-Atlantic	Big East	Marcus O'Sullivan (13th)	12
27	Georgetown	49	Mid-Atlantic	Big East	Patrick Henner (14th)	20
28	Georgia	47	South	SEC	Patrick Cunniff (1st)	24
29	Texas A&M	38	South Central	SEC	Pat Henry (9th)	RV
30	Kansas	15	Midwest	Big 12	Stanley Redwine (13th)	RV
Others Receiving Votes: Arizona State 3, Eastern Michigan 3, Florida 2.

Dropped Out: No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 16 Minnesota, No. 23 William and Mary, No. 29 Virginia, No. 30 Missouri
compiled by Don Kopriva
( year as effective coach of that team in men's cross country)*

USTFCCCA
NCAA Division I
Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll
2012 Week #5 -- October 16
next poll: October 30 (next week off)

Rank	Institution (FPV)	Points	Region	Conference	*Cross Country Coach (Yr)**	Last Week
1	Florida State (11)	359	South	ACC	Karen Harvey (6th)	1
2	Iowa State (1)	346	Midwest	Big 12	Corey Ihmels (6th)	5
3	Oregon	332	West	Pac-12	Robert Johnson (1st)	4
4	Stanford	330	West	Pac-12	Chris Miltenberg (1st)	7
5	Arizona	307	West	Pac-12	James Li (11th)	2
6	Washington	295	West	Pac-12	Greg Metcalf (11th)	3
7	Michigan	280	Great Lakes	Big Ten	Mike McGuire (21st)	8
7	Cornell	280	Northeast	Ivy	Artie Smith (14th)	9
9	Georgetown	261	Mid-Atlantic	Big East	Michael Smith (1st)	6
10	Providence	257	Northeast	Big East	Ray Treacy (29th)	28
11	Duke	234	Southeast	ACC	Kevin Jermyn (9th)	NR
12	Arkansas	229	South Central	SEC	Lance Harter (23rd)	11
13	Penn State	211	Mid-Atlantic	Big Ten	Beth Alford-Sullivan (14th)	14
14	Texas	202	South Central	Big 12	Steve Sisson (7th)	RV
15	Michigan State	180	Great Lakes	Big Ten	Walt Drenth (9th)	10
16	Weber State	176	Mountain	Big Sky	Paul Pilkington (6th)	13
17	New Mexico	157	Mountain	Mountain West	Joe Franklin (6th)	19
18	William and Mary	149	Southeast	Colonial	Stephen Walsh (3rd)	17
19	Notre Dame	146	Great Lakes	Big East	Tim Connelly (25th)	16
20	Toledo	134	Great Lakes	Mid-American	Kevin Hadsell (15th)	15
21	Colorado	116	Mountain	Pac-12	Mark Wetmore (18th)	18
22	Yale	105	Northeast	Ivy	Amy Gosztyla (2nd)	30
22	Villanova	105	Mid-Atlantic	Big East	Gina Procaccio (13th)	24
24	UCLA	68	West	Pac-12	Mike Maynard (1st)	NR
25	Minnesota	67	Midwest	Big Ten	Gary Wilson (28th)	27
26	Boston College	61	Northeast	ACC	Randy Thomas (21st)	21
27	Oklahoma State	53	Midwest	Big 12	Dave Smith (4th)	22
28	Vanderbilt	48	South	SEC	Steve Keith (7th)	12
29	Connecticut	25	Northeast	Big East	Andrea Grove-McDonough (4th)	NR
30	Florida	24	South	SEC	Mike Holloway (6th)	RV
Others Receiving Votes: San Francisco 21, UC Davis 9, NC State 7, Butler 5, Kentucky 1.

Dropped Out: No. 20 San Francisco, No. 23 Columbia, No. 25 Butler, No. 26 NC State, No. 29 Wisconsin
compiled by Jesse Rosen
( year as effective coach of that team in women's cross country)*