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

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.

PDF: National Rankings Summary

Cross Country Rankings Central | Preseason Regional Rankings
2010 NCAA Championships (final results)

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.