Dawgs move 13 spots in latest USTFCCCA Division I poll...

NEW ORLEANS--The University of Washington men's cross country team had one of the biggest leaps up the national charts, as the Huskies were ranked #12 in the latest USTFCCCA cross country coaches' poll released Tuesday.

Coming off an eighth-place finish at last week's Wisconsin adidas Invitational in Madison, where the Dawgs beat ten teams ranked ahead of them, the Huskies moved 13 spots from their previous #25 ranking.  This ranking marks the highest by a UW squad since 1997, according to the USTFCCCA release.

With their eighth-place finish in Wisconsin, Washington also picked up three at-large wins against ranked teams, which may come in handy after the NCAA West Regional meet, as only the top two teams from each of the nine regional championship meets are guaranteed entry into the national championship, with the other teams selected by the NCAA Division I cross country sub-committee.

The country's top five teams in the men's poll are Colorado, Oregon, Syracuse, Oklahoma State, and Iona.

Other Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 30 include #9 Stanford, and #11 UCLA.

On the women's side, Washington dropped three spots in the national poll to #17 following a 13th place finish at the Wisconsin adidas race.

Michigan State, Georgetown, Oregon, Michigan and Arkansas are the country's top five teams in the national poll.

Other Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 30 include #7 Colorado, #11 Stanford, #22 Arizona State, and #29 UCLA.

The USTFCCCA release is available here.

Roosevelt HS grad Lucy Cheadle, who attends Washington University in St. Louis, was named the USTFCCCA Division III athlete of the week for winning the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Invitational meet last Saturday, running 20:45 over the 6k course.

This honor marks the second time Cheadle has won the national athlete of the week honors this season.

NOTE:  The USTFCCCA contributed to this report.