Men's Cross Country Earns Top 10 National Ranking
NEW YORK - Shortly following a dominating team performance by the Columbia men's cross country team at the Vermont Invitational last month, Head Coach of Cross Country Willy Wood stated, " I think we are significantly better than we were last year and this might be our best men's team ever I think. We are very excited about the possibility of what's about to happen."
Interview: Head Coach Willy Wood thoughts on the team this season
So far this season the men's team is right on track for a monumental season. On Tuesday, Oct. 16 the Lions jumped seven spots to No. 10 in the latest USTFCCCA Division I Men's Cross Country National Rankings, the highest in program history. Just weeks after earning the team's first No. 17 ranking, Columbia strikes the top-10 after a strong fifth-place finish in the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on Friday, Oct. 12.
The field featured 19 of the nation's top-30 ranked opponents in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Poll. In one of the biggest performances in program history, the Lions defeated 14 ranked opponents including four in the top 12.
With the No. 10 national ranking, Columbia stands the highest in the Ivy League, moving ahead of No. 23 Princeton. The Lions also lead the Ivy League in the Northeast regional rankings at No. 2, a region with six Ivy League schools.
Next up for the men and women's teams is the 2012 Ivy League Heptagonal Championships on Saturday, Oct. 27 in Princeton, N.J.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division I |
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Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll |
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2012 Week #5 — October 16 |
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| next poll: October 30 (next week off) | ||||||
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region | Conference | Cross Country Coach (Yr*) |
Last Week
|
| 1 | Oklahoma State (6) | 353 | Midwest | Big 12 | Dave Smith (7th) |
2
|
| 2 | Colorado (4) | 343 | Mountain | Pac-12 | Mark Wetmore (18th) |
7
|
| 3 | Stanford (2) | 339 | West | Pac-12 | Chris Miltenberg (1st) |
8
|
| 4 | Iona | 322 | Northeast | Metro Atlantic | Ricardo Santos (5th) |
5
|
| 5 | BYU | 316 | Mountain | West Coast | Ed Eyestone (13th) |
3
|
| 6 | Oklahoma | 306 | Midwest | Big 12 | Martin Smith (8th) |
4
|
| 7 | Texas | 283 | South Central | Big 12 | John Hayes (6th) |
22
|
| 8 | Oregon | 275 | West | Pac-12 | Robert Johnson (1st) |
15
|
| 9 | Arkansas | 257 | South Central | SEC | Chris Bucknam (5th) |
19
|
| 10 | Columbia | 251 | Northeast | Ivy | Willy Wood (19th) |
17
|
| 11 | Michigan | 227 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | Alex Gibby (3rd) |
24
|
| 12 | New Mexico | 206 | Mountain | Mountain West | Joe Franklin (6th) |
28
|
| 13 | Eastern Kentucky | 198 | Southeast | Ohio Valley | Rick Erdmann (34th) |
20
|
| 14 | Florida State | 186 | South | ACC | Bob Braman (13th) |
14
|
| 15 | UCLA | 182 | West | Pac-12 | Mike Maynard (4th) |
27
|
| 16 | Syracuse | 165 | Northeast | Big East | Chris Fox (8th) |
10
|
| 17 | Portland | 159 | West | West Coast | Rob Conner (23rd) |
5
|
| 18 | Duke | 146 | Southeast | ACC | Norm Ogilvie (22nd) |
NR
|
| 19 | Tulsa | 139 | Midwest | Conference USA | Steve Gulley (11th) |
9
|
| 20 | Wisconsin | 134 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | Mick Byrne (5th) |
1
|
| 21 | Virginia Tech | 131 | Southeast | ACC | Dave Cianelli (12th) |
RV
|
| 22 | Northern Arizona | 126 | Mountain | Big Sky | Eric Heins (6th) |
18
|
| 23 | Princeton | 115 | Mid-Atlantic | Ivy | Jason Vigilante (1st) |
11
|
| 24 | Indiana | 103 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | Ron Helmer (6th) |
26
|
| 25 | Iowa State | 80 | Midwest | Big 12 | Corey Ihmels (6th) |
RV
|
| 25 | Villanova | 80 | Mid-Atlantic | Big East | Marcus O’Sullivan (13th) |
12
|
| 27 | Georgetown | 49 | Mid-Atlantic | Big East | Patrick Henner (14th) |
20
|
| 28 | Georgia | 47 | South | SEC | Patrick Cunniff (1st) |
24
|
| 29 | Texas A&M | 38 | South Central | SEC | Pat Henry (9th) |
RV
|
| 30 | Kansas | 15 | Midwest | Big 12 | Stanley Redwine (13th) |
RV
|
