First Regular Division I Poll Keeps Top Intact, Georgetown Women to Top Ten

NEW ORLEANS – The first regular season national cross country poll in Division I by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has yielded little change to the top as compared to the preseason poll released on August 31. The Georgetown women were the lone new addition to the top ten, jumping four spots after a successful weekend at Penn State.

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MEN: On the men’s side, the only minor shake up was the distribution of first-place votes among No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Oklahoma State, and No. 3 Northern Arizona. The Cardinal now holds half of the FPVs to Oklahoma State’s five and Northern Arizona’s one. In the preseason poll, Oklahoma State held a majority of FPVs with seven.

No. 18 Michigan State was the highest-moving team on the men’s side as they bumped up three spots on the poll from 21st in the preseason. No. 24 Princeton is a new addition to the top 30 from the preseason ratings.

Among the meets to watch this weekend, No. 26 Butler and No. 28 Indiana will be among the fray at the Indiana Intercollegiates, hosted by Purdue on Friday. The highest-ranked team in action will be No. 3 Northern Arizona at San Diego State’s Aztec Invitational on Saturday. No. 5 Alabama will host the Crimson Classic on Saturday.

The Big 12 remains the top conference represented in the poll with five teams in the top 30. The Big East, Big Ten, and ACC each have four of their members in the fold.

WOMEN: On the women’s side, Oregon and Texas Tech swapped positions from their preseason perches. The Ducks are now No. 4 while the Lady Raiders moved to No. 5. No. 7 Georgetown, who surged four spots from 11th, enters the top ten for the first time this season.

The Hoyas were the team champions at last weekend’s Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational, hosted by Penn State. Georgetown topped then-No. 7 Princeton (45) and then-No. 24 Penn State (59) with a 28-point tally. Georgetown took three of the 6K’s top spots. Sophomore Emily Jones led the team with a 20:59.2 clocking.

The largest move in the women’s poll came from No. 24 Iowa who was 29th in the preseason. In addition, No. 30 North Carolina entered the poll for the first time this season.

This weekend, No. 1 Villanova will be in action at the Delaware Invitational on Saturday. No. 2 Florida State is slated to be at the Boston College Invitational on Sunday while No. 3 Washington will host the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle on Saturday. No. 15 Notre Dame will host the National Catholic Invitational on Friday. No. 16 Iowa State and No. 24 Iowa will battle at the Iowa Intercollegiate on Saturday while No. 21Michigan State and No. 27 Michigan will meet at the Spartan Invitational in East Lancing. No. 18 New Mexico No. 19 UTEP will go head-to-head at the New Mexico State Kachina Classic on Saturday.

Overall, six Big Ten and Big East women’s squads are represented in the top 30. The ACC and Pac-10 each have four in the order.

The next national poll will be announced on September 21. The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held on Monday, November 22 in Terre Haute, Ind.