USTFCCCA ::: Cowboys, Hoyas Start DI Cross Country Season as Nation's Top Dogs

Aug 30, 2011 by FloTrack Staff

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http://www.ustfccca.org/2011/08/featured/cowboys-hoyas-start-di-cross-country-season-as-top-dogs

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Cowboys, Hoyas Start DI Cross Country Season as Nation’s Top Dogs

Georgetown women earn ten first-place votes after finishing fourth at last year’s NCAA Championships

August 30, 2011

NEW ORLEANS – On Tuesday, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its preseason national cross country coaches’ poll for the 2011 NCAA Division I season. Two-time defending NCAA men’s champion Oklahoma State earned ten of 12 first-place votes to remain as the No. 1 team in the country to start the season while Georgetown was selected as the top women’s team in the country for the first time in school history.

MEN’S POLL

The Cowboys of Oklahoma State will seek a third-straight NCAA crown this November and will return a full slate of returning USTFCCCA All-Americans including German Fernandez, Colby Lowe, Johnathan Stublaski, Girma Mecheso, and Tom Farrell. The Cowboys also added All-American Shadrack Kipchirchir, a sophomore transfer from Western Kentucky.

The men’s No. 2 slot is held by Stanford who finished fourth at the NCAA meet last fall. Wisconsin, who was third at the same meeting, holds at No. 3. Both Stanford and Wisconsin also received one first-place vote. The top ten is rounded out by No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Iona, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 Colorado, No. 8 Florida State, No. 8 Indiana, and No. 10 Portland.

Eastern Kentucky makes their first-ever appearance in the national poll with a No. 28 debut.

The Big East Conference has the most men’s teams in the national top 30 to begin the season, which includes No. 14 Syracuse, No. 17 Villanova, No. 18 Providence, No. 20 Louisville, No. 22 Georgetown, and No. 23 Notre Dame. The Pac-12, who gained No. 7 Colorado, and the Big Ten each has four men’s teams listed in the year’s first poll.

WOMEN’S POLL

Georgetown’s women make their first-ever appearance as the top team in the country according to the nation’s coaches. The Hoyas’ previous all-time best ranking was No. 2 on September 24, 2002 – a season in which they eventually finished fourth nationally. In 2010, Georgetown again finished fourth, and this year return six of their seven NCAA lineup, including national runner-up Emily Infeld, Emily Jones, Renee Tomlin, and Madeline Chambers.

At No. 2, New Mexico gained their all-time best ranking after claiming their all-time best NCAA finish of fifth a year ago. Providence rings in at No. 3. Both New Mexico and Providence also earned a first-place vote. Colorado, a new addition to the Pac-12, was selected fourth while two-time defending team champion Villanova was chosen as the No. 5 team in the land to begin the 2011 season.

Reigning national runner-up Florida State starts at No. 6, and No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 Arizona, No. 9 Duke, and No. 10 Iowa State round out the nation’s top ten.

Texas’ ranking at No. 14 is the squad’s all-time high.

The ACC with six members in the women’s top 30 leads all conferences. Florida State, Duke, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 17 Virginia, No. 18 Boston College, and No. 21 NC State will make the league as competitive as ever. The Big East, Big Ten, and Pac-12 each have five teams in the national poll.

The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held on Monday, November 21, in Terre Haute, Ind. NCAA Regional Championships will be held nine days prior on Saturday, November 12.

USTFCCCA
NCAA Division I
Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll
2011 Preseason -- August 30
next ranking: September 13

Rank	Institution	Points	Region	Conference	Location	2011 FINAL
1	Oklahoma State (10)	357	Midwest	Big 12	Stillwater, Okla.	1
2	Stanford (1)	342	West	Pac-12	Palo Alto, Calif.	4
3	Wisconsin (1)	335	Great Lakes	Big Ten	Madison, Wis.	3
4	Oregon	299	West	Pac-12	Eugene, Ore.	6
5	Iona	292	Northeast	Metro Atlantic	New Rochelle, N.Y.	8
6	Oklahoma	288	Midwest	Big 12	Norman, Okla.	5
7	Colorado	284	Mountain	Pac-12	Boulder, Colo.	15
8	Florida State	261	South	ACC	Tallahassee, Fla.	2
8	Indiana	261	Great Lakes	Big Ten	Bloomington, Ind.	7
10	Portland	252	West	West Coast	Portland, Ore.	13
11	Princeton	225	Mid-Atlantic	Ivy	Princeton, N.J.	12
12	Northern Arizona	223	Mountain	Big Sky	Flagstaff, Ariz.	9
13	NC State	222	Southeast	ACC	Raleigh, N.C.	20
14	Syracuse	218	Northeast	Big East	Syracuse, N.Y.	14
15	Arkansas	201	South Central	SEC	Fayetteville, Ark.	10
16	BYU	192	Mountain	West Coast	Provo, Utah	18
17	Villanova	153	Mid-Atlantic	Big East	Villanova, Pa.	23
18	Providence	148	Northeast	Big East	Providence, R.I.	22
19	Virginia	134	Southeast	ACC	Charlottesville, Va.	17
20	Louisville	131	Southeast	Big East	Louisville, Ky.	28
21	New Mexico	110	Mountain	Mountain West	Albuquerque, N.M.	16
22	Georgetown	82	Mid-Atlantic	Big East	Washington, D.C.	29
23	Notre Dame	79	Great Lakes	Big East	South Bend, Ind.	25
24	Texas	78	South Central	Big 12	Austin, Texas	26
25	Ohio State	66	Great Lakes	Big Ten	Columbus, Ohio	DNQ
26	Florida	65	South	SEC	Gainesville, Fla.	DNQ
27	Minnesota	58	Midwest	Big Ten	Minneapolis, Minn.	27
28	Eastern Kentucky	40	Southeast	Ohio Valley	Richmond, Ky.	DNQ
29	Arizona State	30	West	Pac-12	Tempe, Ariz.	DNQ
30	Dartmouth	24	Northeast	Ivy	Hanover, N.H.	DNQ
Others Receiving Votes: Alabama 20, Penn State 20, North Carolina 17, William & Mary 17, Michigan State 13, Washington 12, Michigan 10, Lamar 6, Arizona 4, Texas A&M 2, Columbia 1.


compiled by Don Kopriva


USTFCCCA
NCAA Division I
Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll
2011 Preseason -- August 30
next ranking: September 13

Rank	Institution	Points	Region	Conference	Location	2011 FINAL
1	Georgetown (10)	358	Mid-Atlantic	Big East	Washington, D.C.	4
2	New Mexico (1)	334	Mountain	Mountain West	Albuquerque, N.M.	5
3	Providence (1)	333	Northeast	Big East	Providence, R.I.	9
4	Colorado	324	Mountain	Pac-12	Boulder, Colo.	6
5	Villanova	308	Mid-Atlantic	Big East	Villanova, Pa.	1
6	Florida State	278	South	ACC	Tallahassee, Fla.	2
7	Stanford	276	West	Pac-12	Palo Alto, Calif.	13
8	Arizona	242	West	Pac-12	Tucson, Ariz.	11
9	Duke	241	Southeast	ACC	Durham, N.C.	17
10	Iowa State	236	Midwest	Big 12	Ames, Iowa	8
11	Washington	219	West	Pac-12	Seattle, Wash.	16
12	North Carolina	203	Southeast	ACC	Chapel Hill, N.C.	14
13	Michigan	198	Great Lakes	Big Ten	Ann Arbor, Mich.	22
14	Texas	190	South Central	Big 12	Austin, Texas	20
15	Syracuse	172	Northeast	Big East	Syracuse, N.Y.	10
16	Oregon	156	West	Pac-12	Eugene, Ore.	12
17	Virginia	144	Southeast	ACC	Charlottesville, Va.	21
18	Penn State	134	Mid-Atlantic	Big Ten	State College, Pa.	26
18	Boston College	134	Northeast	ACC	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	19
20	Texas Tech	129	Mountain	Big 12	Lubbock, Texas	3
21	NC State	108	Southeast	ACC	Raleigh, N.C.	24
22	Princeton	106	Mid-Atlantic	Ivy	Princeton, N.J.	15
22	Florida	106	South	SEC	Gainesville, Fla.	29
24	West Virginia	105	Mid-Atlantic	Big East	Morgantown, W. Va.	DNQ
25	BYU	98	Mountain	West Coast	Provo, Utah	DNQ
26	Oklahoma State	88	Midwest	Big 12	Stillwater, Okla.	17
27	Toledo	75	Great Lakes	Mid-American	Toledo, Ohio	28
28	Iowa	69	Midwest	Big Ten	Iowa City, Iowa	DNQ
29	Michigan State	60	Great Lakes	Big Ten	East Lansing, Mich.	23
30	Minnesota	52	Midwest	Big Ten	Minneapolis, Minn.	27
Others Receiving Votes: Columbia 43, Arkansas 15, Kansas State 13, Indiana 9, UCalifornia 7, Tulsa 6, San Francisco 6, Vanderbilt 2, James Madison 1, Stony Brook 1, La Salle 1


compiled by Jesse Rosen

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Tom Lewis

U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association

Communications Manager

1100 Poydras St., Suite 1750

New Orleans, LA 70163

(O) 504-599-8904 (F) 504-599-8909

Email: tom@ustfccca.org

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