Oct. 18, 2011
NEW ORLEANS - The voters showed they were suitably impressed with Washington's victory at last Friday's Adidas Wisconsin Invitational, vaulting the Husky women's cross country team all the way up to No. 2 in today's national poll. It's the highest ranking for the Dawgs since they were ranked No. 1 during the 2009 season. The Huskies went to Wisconsin last week ranked 24th nationally by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), down from their preseason No. 11 ranking. With 18 of the Top-30 teams on hand, including No. 1-ranked Villanova and six more Top-10 squads in the mix, the Huskies came out on top with 199 points, also finishing ahead of Pac-12 rivals such as Arizona, Oregon, Stanford, and California. Sophomore Katie Flood led the way with a seventh-place finish, and was named GoHuskies.com co-Student-Athlete of the Week with Soo Bin Kim of women's golf. The top spot is now held by Florida State, last year's runner-up at nationals. The Seminoles were ranked third and went to Pre-Nationals in Indiana instead of to Wisconsin. FSU had a comfortable win at Pre-Nats to earn all 12 first place votes this week. The Huskies are second, followed by No. 3 Vanderbilt, which was a surprise runner-up behind UW at Wisconsin, and then Villanova at four and Arizona at No. 5. The women have been a regular presence in the upper echelon of the Top-10 over the past several years. In 2007, Washington broke into the Top-10 for the first time since 2000, ranking as high as seventh. 2008 and 2009 saw Washington ranked No. 1 nationally for the majority of both seasons, winning the NCAA title in 2008 and placing third in 2009. Last year the Huskies were ranked as high as No. 3. Washington trains this week in preparation of the first ever Pac-12 Championships, held on Oct. 29 in Tempe, Arizona. The meet should be a major battle on the women's side as six conference teams are ranked in the top-16. |
