Wisconsin, Florida State Now Are Atop National Coaches Poll in DI

NEW ORLEANS – Wisconsin’s men’s cross country team is the new number one squad in the country according to the nation’s coaches. After a very busy conference championship weekend, the USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll for NCAA’s Division I reflect those who made the best case for a spot among the nation’s elite. The focus will shift to NCAA Regional Championships in the coming days as Wisconsin takes over the men’s top spot for the first time since 2007 and Florida State’s women retain the No. 1 position for the second-straight voting week.

PDF: National Rankings Summary | Week-by-Week

Last Weekend Team Scores Report (pdfs)
National Collegiate Cross Country Report
Results by Region: NCAA Division I 
Results by Conference: NCAA Division I 

Cross Country Rankings Central
2010 NCAA Championships (final results)
List of This Weekend’s Known Meets

AROUND THE POLLS

MEN

* Wisconsin takes over as the new No. 1 team in the land. The Badgers won the Big Ten Championship on Sunday, and for the 13th-consecutive time, with a commanding performance, in scoring just 17 points. Wisconsin claimed seven of 12 first-place votes in the poll and are on top of the national poll for the first time since September 25, 2007.

* No. 2 Oklahoma State topped No. 5 Oklahoma for the Big 12 Championship title, 30-43. The Cowboys, the two-time defending NCAA Champions, had been ranked No. 1 since the preseason.

* No. 3 BYU unseated No. 8 Portland from their 32-year perch atop the West Coast Conference podium with a 25-32 win over the Pilots. The Cougars joined the WCC for the first time in July.

* No. 4 Colorado has reached a season-high ranking after winning the Pac-12 title, over then-No. 4 Stanford, 46-53, in their first-ever appearance at the league meet. The Buffs joined the Pac-12 for the first time this summer after enjoying a successful stay in the Big 12.

* Reaching season highs in the poll this week are No. 13 Villanova, No. 19 Michigan, and No. 25 North Carolina. Villanova scored a big victory, 43-94 over Georgetown for the Big East crown. Michigan tied for third with Minnesota at the Big Ten meet. And, North Carolina was third at the ACC Championships where No. 11 NC State took the title for the second time in three years.

* The Big East and Big Ten share the helm as the conferences with most teams in the top 30 with five. The Pac-12 and Big 12 each have four squads in the top 30, followed by the ACC (3).

WOMEN

* No. 1 Florida State dominated the ACC Championships in scoring just 20 points for their fourth-straight league crown.

* No. 2 Villanova, the two-time defending NCAA Champs, jumped up two spots after claiming the Big East title, 54-63 over No. 5 Providence. For the Wildcats, it was their fourth-straight Big East championship.

* In their first year in a new league, No. 3 Colorado (50) climbed 13 spots from 16th after taking the Pac-12 Championship crown from nearest challengers then-No. 2 Washington (73) and No. 8 Stanford (75).

* No. 4 Vanderbilt dropped a spot despite winning their first-ever SEC Championship in women’s cross country on Monday. The Commodores placed five runners in the top ten to score 30 points and top nearest challengers then-No. 14 Arkansas (61) and Florida (62).

* Also reaching season highs in this week’s poll are No. 11 Oregon, No. 12 Michigan State, No. 13 West Virginia, No. 20 NC State, and No. 27 San Francisco.

* At No. 28, Wisconsin is ranked in the national top 30 for the first time this season.

* Conferences leading with teams in the top 30 are: Big East (6), Pac-12 (6), ACC (5), Big Ten (5), and Big 12 (3).

NOTE: Next week is slated to be a "repeat" week, meaning all positions on this week’s poll will carry to next week.

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.