UW women ranked #8; WSU men #18 in USTFCCCA indoor pre-season poll...

The University of Washington women's track & field team is ranked eighth and the Washington State men's squad is ranked 18th in the pre-season indoor NCAA Division I team rankings by the United States Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

USTFCCCA national rankings are a prediction of how teams and individuals will place at the 2010 NCAA Div. I Indoor Championships, March 12-13, Fayetteville, Ark.

Washington returns indoor All-Americans Elisa Bryant, who finished eighth in the weight throw: the entire distance medley relay team of Christine Babcock, Falesha Ankton, Kailey Campbell, and Katie Follett that finished eighth last year; and, Follett in the 3000, where she finished fifth.

The WSU men's team returns All-Americans Jeshua Anderson (above/photo by Paul Merca) and Reny Follett from the men's 4x400m relay team that finished eighth in 2009, and Trent Arrivey, a three-time All-American high jumper.

The Florida State men's team has been identified as the No. 1 team entering the season with in-state rival Florida at No. 2 close behind. On the women's side, Texas A&M, the defending outdoor champion and led by a talented sprint crew, enters the season No. 1 in the rankings. The Cougar women's team is unranked in the preseason projections, as are the Husky men's team.

The first regular release of updated rankings for NCAA's Division I will start Tuesday, January 26, with updates occurring the following seven Tuesdays leading to the NCAA Indoor Championships, March 12-13.

Washington opens the 2010 season on January 16th with the UW Indoor Preview at the Dempsey Indoor, while Washington State opens with the two-day WSU Indoor Open in Pullman January 15-16th.

NOTE: The sports information office of the University of Washington and Washington State University contributed to this report.