Washington men move 14 spots to number 12 in latest USTFCCCA coaches' poll...

Tibu Proctor (#671) and Tanner Anderson
of the University of Washington
(Mike Scott photo)

NEW ORLEANS—Thanks to a second place performance last Friday at the Battle in Beantown meet in Boston, the University of Washington men’s cross country team was the biggest beneficiary in the USTFCCCA national coaches’ poll released Tuesday.

The Huskies rocketed 14 positions from its #26 ranking last week and finds itself in the number 12 spot according to the coaches’ poll.

The Washington State men’s team dropped two positions from last week to number 15 in the national poll, even though they did not compete at all.

The nation’s top five men’s teams remain unchanged, led by defending national champion Northern Arizona, followed in order by BYU, Portland, Stanford, and Iowa State.

Other Pac-12 teams ranked in the USTFCCCA top 30 include number 7 Colorado, #11 Oregon, and #23 UCLA.

The Husky women’s team moved one spot from #17 to #16 in the latest poll, despite being idle last week.

Like the men’s rankings, the nation’s top five remain unchanged, led by defending champ New Mexico, followed in order by Colorado, Stanford, Oregon, and Boise State.

The other two Pac-12 schools ranked in the national top-30 are #21 Cal, and #24 Utah.

Expect major shuffling when the next poll is released next Tuesday, as 25 of the top 30 women’s teams are in action, with 15 at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin meet in Madison.  The Huskies will be at Stanford for the Stanford Invitational.

On the men’s side, 24 of the nation’s top 30 teams are competing with 19 squads, including Washington State, running at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin meet, while the Husky men are idol, until the Pre-Nationals two weeks from this Saturday in Madison, Wisconsin.

The USTFCCCA poll is available here.

NOTE:  The USTFCCCA contributed to this report.