Pac-12 Makes Significant Moves in Division I National Coaches Polls

NEW ORLEANS – The Pac-12 Conference is on the upswing in Tuesday’s latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I National Coaches Polls.

The Oregon men soared eight spots to No. 4 after a dominant win at Boston College this past weekend, the Colorado men jumped past Northern Arizona to No. 2 in the country, and the Arizona women were propelled by a resounding Roy Griak Invitational win to No. 3 to highlight a stellar weekend for the conference.

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Division I XC Rankings Central

Men

NCAA Division I National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
Oklahoma State	Colorado (+1)	Northern Arizona (-1)	Oregon (+8)	BYU (-1)
View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll

Despite not running top transfer Eric Jenkins and NCAA 1500 champ Mac Fleet, the Oregon men easily dispatched a field at the Boston College Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown featuring two other then-top 10 teams. A 1-2 finish by first-year runners Edward Cheserek and Jake Leingang carried the Ducks not only to the team win and the No. 4 spot, but to their highest national position since starting the preseason No. 4 in 2011.

Even higher in the rankings, Colorado took advantage of both a strong showing in its home Rocky Mountain Shootout and a loss by Northern Arizona — which did not run several key team members — to No. 1 defending champion Oklahoma State to step in front of NAU into the national No. 2 spot. With the win, OK State became the unanimous No. 1 squad by garnering all 12 first-place votes.

Behind No. 1 OSU, No. 2 Colorado, No. 3 NAU and No. 4 Oregon, BYU handled its business at the Roy Griak Invitational to win the team title and the individual title (Tylor Thatcher), but the Cougars were displaced to No. 5 by Oregon.

No. 6 Arkansas, No. 7 Tulsa and No. 8 Portland were also all pushed back one spot from a week ago, while No. 9 Princeton and No. 10 Syracuse traded spots from last week. Gone from the top 10? Wisconsin, as the 2011 champions dropped from No. 8 to No. 19 after a disappointing fourth-place showing at Boston College.

Farther down the poll, UCLA is ranked higher than it has ever been since 1998 at No. 12, as is North Carolina — new to the poll this week — at No. 13. Also new to the poll is No. 16 Colorado State, which is ranked its highest since it was No. 16 toward the end of the 2003 season, and for the first time since 2005.

Another slate of big match-ups in on tap this weekend as No. 7 Tulsa and No. 9 Princeton headline a field of nine ranked teams at Notre Dame, while a handful of other ranked teams will take to the course at Lehigh’s Paul Short Run. Stay tuned for The Warm-Up Lap on Thursday for a more detailed preview of this weekend’s action.

Women

NCAA Division I National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
Providence	Florida State	Arizona (+2)	Duke	Oregon (-2)
View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

A pair of Pac-12 teams traded places in the women’s top five as Arizona moved to No. 3 and defending national champion Oregon fell down to No. 5, though the matter is far from settled. Arizona ran most of its top squad en route to a decisive team title over seven other then-ranked teams at the Roy Griak Invitational, but the Ducks have yet to debut their full flock as some of their top runners combined for a runner-up effort to No. 1 Providence at Boston College.

Not only did Arizona take Oregon’s spot at No. 3, but it also took one of Providence’s first-place votes, leaving the No. 1 Friars with 11 of the 12. Providence won the Battle in Beantown over Oregon and No. 10 Cornell — a one-spot slide from last week — with its top three runners finishing within the first four places, including winner Emily Sisson.

Florida State stayed steady at No. 2, followed by new No. 3 Arizona, No. 4 Duke and new No. 5 Oregon.

Also remaining stationary in the poll were No. 6 Georgetown, No. 7 Washington and No. 8 Stanford. Arkansas replaced Cornell at No. 9, while the Big Red round out the top 10.

The lone new team to the poll made a splash in a big way, as Virginia went from not receiving votes to No. 17 after winning its home Panorama Farm Invitational this past weekend over William and Mary, which fell seven spots to No. 21 this week. The Cavaliers were ranked as high as No. 15 a year ago.

Another mover and shaker was No. 20 Butler, which improved nine spots from a week ago after a third place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational and a fourth-place individual finish by junior Mara Olson in a race with a slew of ranked teams. The ranking is the best for the Bulldogs since being ranked 18th in the early stages of the 2005 season.

The big meets keep on rolling this weekend with No. 2 Florida State headlining a field of nine ranked squads at the Notre Dame Invitational and No. 6 Georgetown takes on a field of seven other ranked teams at Lehigh’s Paul Short Run. Stay tuned for The Warm-Up Lap on Thursday for a more detailed preview of this weekend’s action.

The NCAA Division I National Championships will be contested in Terre Haute, Ind., on November 23.