Pre-NCAA Championship, Division I Coaches’ Poll in Cross Country Revealed

NEW ORLEANS – It’s just days before the first champions of the NCAA Division I season are crowned and the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national coaches’ poll for cross country is pulled in two different directions once again. On the women’s side, Villanova remains the unanimous No. 1 and has been unphased on the top perch all season. The men’s team race is much more suspect as Stanford reclaims No. 1, but by just a point over No. 2 and defending national champs, Oklahoma State.

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MEN: While Oklahoma State has more first place votes (six) than Stanford (four), the second-place showing in their respective regions by both teams made some voters question the strengths of the previously undisputed top teams, causing some mixing among the top ten. No. 3 Oregon and No. 6 Oklahoma, who topped Stanford and Oklahoma State, respectively, in the NCAA West and Midwest Regions, each earned a first-place vote in this final poll before the national championships.

Oregon was the runner-up to Oklahoma State in the 2009 championships, and a national title for them would be their third in four years. While Stanford, who placed tenth in last year’s national meet, will look to clinch their first national crown since 2003.

No. 4 Wisconsin, who reached their season-high ranking this week, won the NCAA Great Lakes Region easily and could be the ultimate dark horse. The Badgers last won the national crown in 2005, and they are the first team in NCAA history to make a 50th appearance at the national meet. Wisconsin will also make a national-record 39th-straight appearance, and, overall, the Badgers are the all-time leader in runner-up showings (9), trophy finishes (22), and top-10 showings (41). Wisconsin holds the longest active top-10 finish streak, currently at 14, and, with a top-15 finish, the Badgers will break the tie with Arkansas (1978-2006) and become the lone team to finish in top 15 for a 30th-consecutive time.

New Mexico, the winners of the NCAA Mountain Region, enters at No. 5 in the country, their highest ranking in program history. Their eighth-place finish a year ago was the best in school history.

WOMEN: The Wildcats of Villanova will look to claim repeat national titles for the first time since their six-year title run from 1989 to 1994. Villanova has won eight national titles in women’s cross country, the most for a Division I squad. Only Stanford (5) and BYU (4) join Villanova in having won more than two.

No. 2 Florida State, runner-up in 2009, easily won the NCAA South Regional last weekend and will look to challenge Villanova for their first-ever national title. The Seminoles have reached a trophy finishes (top four) in each of the last three years.

Georgetown moved up two spots to No. 3 after they came within 11 points of Villanova in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. The Hoyas, with four in the top ten, scored just 40 points in their challenge of Villanova’s 29. Georgetown, making their 22nd appearance at the national meet, has three times finished third in the meet, with the last coming in 2001.

No. 4 Washington surged seven spots up the poll after a four-point victory over Oregon. The Huskies were the 2008 national champions and third in 2009.

At No. 5, New Mexico, just as their male counterparts, reached an all-time high in the coaches’ poll. The Lobos, making their fifth NCAA appearance, has an all-time high placing at the national meet of 11th in 1981.

Indiana State will host the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Monday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind.  The women’s race will begin at approximately 12:08 p.m. Eastern, followed by the men’s race at approximately 12:48 p.m. 

A live webcast of the championships will be broadcast from noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, November 22, on NCAA.com.  In addition, highlights from the championships will be included as part of the CBS NCAA Fall Seasonal Show scheduled to air on Saturday, December 18 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Eastern time on CBS HD.