Washington State earns #20 national ranking in latest USTFCCCA polls...

NEW ORLEANS--After a surprisingly strong fifth place finish at the adidas Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Indiana where they beat four nationally ranked squads, the Washington State University men's cross country team (left/photo by Paul Merca) finds itself ranked #20 in the latest USTFCCCA polls, released Tuesday.

This is the first time this season that the Pete Julian led squad has broken into the national top 30.

In the women's national rankings, the University of Washington is slotted in at #24, four spots down from #20.

Both defending national champions are currently ranked #1 in this week's polls--Oklahoma State on the men's side, and the Villanova women's squad. Villanova jumped up from #5 in the previous poll.

The complete national poll can be accessed here.

Washington next competes on October 14th at the adidas Wisconsin Invitational in Madison, while the Cougars stay close to home, running in the Inland Northwest Classic in Spokane.

In the USTFCCCA Division II regional polls, both Western Washington teams are ranked #3 in the West Region, while Seattle Pacific's women's team checks in at #7,  In the Division III regional poll, Whitman's women's team is #3, while Whitworth is #9.  Whitworth's men's team is #3 in the D3 regional poll.

NOTE: The USTFCCCA contributed to this report.