Cougar men ranked #13 in USTFCCCA national pre season poll, while both Husky squads are in top 30...

NEW ORLEANS—With the official start of the collegiate cross country season starting this weekend, the USTFCCCA released the pre-season rankings of the nation’s top NCAA Division I schools Tuesday.

On the men’s side, Washington State, led by Chandler Teigen (left/photo by Paul Merca) starts off with a number 13 national ranking, while the University of Washington, led by new head coach Andy Powell, starts the season at number 27.

The nation’s top five men’s teams are defending national champion Northern Arizona, BYU, Portland, Stanford, and Iowa State.

Other Pac-12 schools ranked in the national top 30 include #7 Colorado, #8 Oregon, and #20 UCLA.

On the women’s side, Washington, under the leadership of new program director Maurica Powell,  begins the season ranked number 18.

The nation’s top five women’s teams as selected by the national panel of coaches are defending national champion New Mexico, Colorado, Stanford, Oregon, and Boise State.

The only other Pac-12 women’s team ranked in the national top 30 is #20 Cal.

Washington State opens up its 2018 campaign with the WSU Alumni Open race this Friday at the Colfax Golf Club in Colfax, while Washington opens a week from Saturday (September 8th) with the Sundodger Invitational at Lincoln Park.

The men’s national rankings are available here, while the women’s national rankings are available here.

NOTE:  The USTFCCCA contributed to this report.