Pac-12 Cross Country remains dominant among national top 10
SAN FRANCISCO – Paced by the No. 1 COLORADO women’s squad, the Pac-12 Conference held steady with a national-best six top 10 teams among its 10 nationally ranked men’s and women’s programs in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) polls released on Tuesday.
MEN’S WOMEN’S
2. Stanford (2 first-place votes) 1. Colorado (11 first-place votes)
4. Colorado (2) 2. Oregon
8. Oregon 5. Stanford
11. Washington State 12. Washington
20. UCLA 26. Utah
RV: California
The three Pac-12 men’s and women’s teams in the top 10 are the most of any conference, and the six total top-10 teams are double the next closest leagues (ACC, Big Ten).
The Buffaloes’ women now hold 11 of the 12 first-place votes available after picking up an additional three this week. No. 2 OREGON and No. 5 STANFORD held their rankings, while No. 12 WASHINGTON gained one spot and No. 26 UTAH rounded out the league’s five ranked women’s teams.
The UCLA men’s team was the Conference’s biggest mover for the second straight week, climbing two spots to No. 20 after gaining three the previous week. No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 Colorado and No. 8 Oregon remain in the top 10, while WASHINGTON STATE continues to hold its highest ranking since 1998 at No. 11. The five ranked men’s teams are the most of any conference in the nation.
ARIZONA (Dave Murray Invitational), Stanford (University of San Diego Invitational) and Washington (Sundodger Invitational) both swept their way to men’s and women’s race titles last week, while the Utah women tied for first at the Montana State Invitational.
In addition to the team crowns, Addi Zerrener and Hunter Davila of Arizona, Fiona O’Keeffe of Stanford, and Amy-Eloise Neale and Johnathan Stevens of Washington all raced to individual titles. It marked the second individual wins of the fall for both Zerrener and Stevens.
Five weeks of racing remain ahead of the 2017 Pac-12 Championships hosted by Oregon at Springfield Golf Club in Springfield, Ore., on Friday, Oct. 27.
The NCAA Mountain and West Regionals will be held Friday, Nov. 10 in Logan, Utah and Seattle, Wash., respectively, with teams advancing to the 2017 NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, Nov. 18.
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 (28 – 16 men/12 women) and individual titles (28 – 25 men/3 women) of any league in the country.