Pac-12 cross country teams hold steady in first USTFCCCA polls
SAN FRANCISCO - After debuting in the 2016 preseason poll two weeks ago, the men’s and women’s cross country teams from COLORADO, OREGON, STANFORD and WASHINGTON all maintained their national rankings in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) polls announced on Tuesday.
On the women’s side, No. 2 Colorado moved closer to the top spot occupied by defending NCAA champion New Mexico as the Buffaloes (345 points) added a second first-place vote and are now within three points of the Lobos (348). No. 4 Oregon, No. 7 Stanford and No. 11 Washington all remained steady, with the Ducks and Huskies securing additional points, while CALIFORNIA and UTAH continue to receive votes.
All four men’s teams maintained their positions in the top 8, led by No. 2 Oregon, which is set to make its 2016 debut as host of this weekend’s Bill Dellinger Invitational. No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 Colorado and No. 8 Washington held their spots, though the Buffaloes gained several points thanks to an early victory at the Colorado State Invitational on Sept. 2. WASHINGTON STATE and UCLA are also receiving votes.
The Colorado men were one of five Pac-12 teams to post victories in the opening two weeks of the season along with the ARIZONA STATE women at the George Kyte Classic, CALIFORNIA men at the USF Invitational, UCLA men at the University of Nevada Nature’s Bakery Twilight Classic, and USC women at the Pepperdine Invitational.
In addition, four men and four women won individual race titles:
MEN
- Arizona State's CJ Albertson won the George Kyte Classic
- Colorado's Ryan Forsyth won the Colorado State Invitational
- UCLA's Daniel De La Torre won the Nature's Bakery Twilight Classic
- Washington's Colby Gilbert won the UW-Seattle U. Open
WOMEN
- Arizona's Addi Zerrenner won the George Kyte Classic
- USC's Madison Ricks won the Pepperdine Invitational
- Washington's Katie Knight and Amy-Eloise Neal split the win at the UW-Seattle U. Open
In addition to the teams in the national polls, 10 Pac-12 women’s teams and eight men’s teams appear in USTFCCCA regional rankings.
Seven Pac-12 teams race this week, seven weeks ahead of the 2016 Pac-12 Cross Country Championships hosted by ARIZONA at Randolph North Golf Course in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday, Oct. 28. The NCAA Mountain and West Regionals will be held Friday, Nov. 11 in Logan, Utah and Sacramento, Calif., respectively, with teams advancing to the 2016 NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, Nov. 19.
The Pac-12 will be looking to add to its distinction as the winningest conference in NCAA Cross Country history this fall as current league members boast the most combined team national championships (27 – 16 men/11 women) and individual titles (28 – 25 men/3 women) of any league in the country.