Oct. 21, 2008

SEATTLE - An impressive team effort by the Washington Huskies women's cross country team on Saturday led to a dominating win at the NCAA Division I Pre-National meet. The first major challenge for the Husky women paid big dividends as Washington picked up all 12 first-place votes this week in the women's Division I cross country poll released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The Huskies placed four women in the top-10 on Saturday scoring 36 points. Washington beat out 11 other ranked teams, including three in the top-10 in the Blue Race. Now-sixth-ranked Villanova finished second to Washington by 90 points.

Last week the Huskies were first with nine first place votes, with Oregon earning the other three. The Ducks did not travel to the Pre-National meet, leaving Washington alone to impress the voters. However, the Huskies and Ducks will now battle at three consecutive meets, starting with the Pac-10 Championships which Oregon hosts on Oct. 31. That will be followed by NCAA West Regionals on Nov. 15 and then the NCAA Championships on Nov. 24 back in Terre Haute, Ind. at the site of UW's Pre-National win.

The Washington men's cross country squad also continued to gain respect from voters with its 11th-place finish at Pre-Nationals out of a field of 40 teams, and the men were rewarded with their first appearance in the Top-30 this season. Washington jumped up to a tie for 24th this week with Pac-10 rival California.

The voters clearly view UW's West Region as the deepest in America, as the Husky men are one of seven West Region teams to populate the Top-30. No other region has more than five ranked teams. The Oregon men continue to be the nation's No. 1 team, but the Stanford men jumped eight spots to No. 2 after they won the team title at Pre-Nationals. Portland, UCLA, Cal Poly, and California are also ranked teams out of the West Region.

The Women's Division I Cross Country National Poll:

Ranking Team (first place votes) Region/Rank Totals Previous
1 WASHINGTON - (12) West-1 360 1
2 Oregon West-2 347 2
3 Florida State South-1 334 3
4 Princeton Mid-Atlantic-1 324 5
5 West Virginia Mid-Atlantic-2 311 7
6 Villanova Mid-Atlantic-3 302 13
7 Minnesota Midwest-1 280 4
8 Michigan Great Lakes-2 273 11
9 Michigan State Great Lakes-1 259 9
10 Illinois Midwest-2 245 17
11 Georgetown Mid-Atlantic-4 237 19
12 Texas Tech Mountain-1 231 29
13 Arkansas South Central-1 204 10
14 Florida South-2 202 15
15 Arizona State West-3 192 8
16 Wisconsin Great Lakes-3 183 16
17 Baylor South Central-2 173 14
18 Stanford West-4 165 6
19 Penn State Mid-Atlantic-5 153 20
20 Rice South Central-3 136 24
21 Iowa Midwest-3 112 NR
22 Stony Brook Northeast-1 107 12
23 New Mexico Mountain-2 95 27
24 Providence Northeast-2 69 21
25 Wake Forest Southeast-1 55 25
26 Southern Methodist South Central-4 53 23
27 Nebraska Midwest-4 52 NR
28 BYU Mountain-3 43 26
29 Northern Arizona Mountain-4 33 22
30 Duke Southeast-2 20 28

The Men's Division I Cross Country National Poll:

Ranking Team (first place votes) Region/Rank Totals Previous
1 Oregon - (8) West-1 352 1
2 Stanford West-3 332 10
3 Oklahoma State - (4) Midwest-1 323 2
4 Portland West-2 318 4
5 Alabama South-1 316 6
6 Wisconsin Great Lakes-1 301 5
7 Iona College Northeast-1 297 7
8 Northern Arizona Mountain-1 276 16--tie
9 Michigan Great Lakes-2 261 9
10 Georgetown Mid-Atlantic-1 248 8
11 BYU Mountain-2 229 18
11 Auburn South-2 229 16--tie
13 UCLA West-4 214 23
14 Virginia Southeast-1 198 12
15 Florida State South-3 191 13
16 Tulsa Midwest-3 177 19
17 Colorado Mountain-3 161 3
18 Texas A&M South Central-1 150 20
19 Indiana Great Lakes-3 149 NR
20 Minnesota Midwest-2 148 14
21 William & Mary Southeast-2 118 24
22 Iowa State Midwest-4 111 11
23 Cal Poly West-5 100 29
24 California West-6 63 25
24 WASHINGTON West-7 63 NR
26 Arkansas South Central-2 60 27
27 Providence Northeast-2 49 22
28 Florida South-4 48 NR
29 North Carolina State Southeast-3 29 15
30 Texas South Central-3 21 21