Cougar women's squad remain in the USTFCCCA top 25; Seattle Pacific now #8 in women's D2 poll..

NEW ORLEANS--Washington State's women's squad remains among the country's top 25 teams in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national poll.

The Cougars dropped two spots to number 21 from #19 in this week's poll.

Traditionally, the largest "moving week" of them all is week four as preseason data gets thrown out and teams are scored based only on the season in question. As a result, a big number of changes swept through the top 25 this week.

In the women’s rankings, LSU and Texas A&M swaped spots, resulting in the first No. 1 ranking for LSU this season. Two-time defending national champions Texas A&M had been ranked in the top spot since the preseason.

On the men’s side, Texas A&M moves up a spot to take over No. 1 for the first time this season. The two-time defending champions are followed by No. 2 LSU who moved to their season-high post after being ranked fifth last week. After winning another ACC title, Florida State moved to a season-best notch at No. 3. Florida, who had been ranked No. 1 since the preseason, slipped to No. 4.

The link to the complete USTFCCCA Division I poll is here.

Both Washington State squads head across the Cascades to face Washington at Husky Stadium on Friday.

Speaking of the Cougars, here is a link to their weekly press release touting the Washington meet in Seattle.

Friday's meet is either the 100th meeting (according to WSU records) or the 96th meeting (according to the UW) of the two men's squads. WSU lists the series score as 62-36-1, while UW says its 60-34-1 in favor of the Cougs.

In the women's competition, Washington leads the series 20-15, with the Cougs winning the meet nine of the last ten years. Two years ago, the Huskies pulled off the victory at Husky Stadium, winning 81 2/3 to 81 1/3.

In Division II, Seattle Pacific's women's squad made a substantial jump in the national rankings, moving up to number 8, eleven spots from #19 in last week's poll.

Western Washington dropped from #16 to #22 in this week's poll.

The Viking men's squad moved up to #14 from last week's spot at #18.

Abilene Christian’s men and Grand Valley State’s women stayed at their top posts for another week.

The USTFCCCA Division II poll is available here.

NOTE: The USTFCCCA and Washington State University contributed to this report.