UW women drop in latest USTFCCCA Indoor Index; Husky & Cougar men just outside top 25...

Action in the men's 5000 at the UW Invitational
(Paul Merca photo)

NEW ORLEANS--The University of Washington women's track & field team dropped five spots in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Rating Index released Monday to number 24.

There were no changes in the nation's top five women's teams after last weekend's meets, as Arkansas, Texas A&M, Georgia, Texas and USC maintained the top spots.

Among other ranked women's teams in the top 25 from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, BYU moved up one spot to number 8; Oregon moved six positions to number 9; and Colorado rocketed 15 spots to number 18.

There were some minor changes in the men's top five, but Oregon remains the country's number one team, followed by Arkansas, LSU, Florida State, and North Carolina A&T.

From the MPSF, BYU moved 12 spots to number 6, thanks to a strong showing by their 5000 meter runners, who occupy the top three spots after Friday night's performance at the UW Invitational.

USC at number 13, and Arizona State at number 19 are the only other teams from the MPSF in the national top 25.

The Huskies moved up significantly, thanks to their performance in the 5000 at the UW Invitational, but are just outside the top 25 at number 32, while Washington State is at number 34, thanks to their milers, two of whom broke four minutes at the UW Invitational.

Washington is off this weekend, while Washington State heads to Lubbock for the Matador Qualifier, hosted by Texas Tech this Friday.

The USTFCCCA release is available here.

NCAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPS TO BE BROADCAST ON ESPN PLATFORMS...

The USTFCCCA also announced that ESPN will televise until at least 2023, the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.

The thrilling, unpredictable event returns to live television for the first time since 2009 as the upcoming, rescheduled 2020 championships will be exclusively presented on ESPNU and available through the ESPN App on Monday, March 15, starting at 12:30 p.m., Eastern.

The two-hour live telecast on March 15 will feature, without commercial interruption, the women’s six-kilometer, national-championship race at 12:50 p.m., Eastern, with the men’s 10-kilometer, national-championship race to follow at 1:40 p.m., Eastern.

The event, originally scheduled for November 21, 2020, will take place at the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla. Oklahoma State University is hosting the national championship event for the first time.

The championships telecast, produced by the USTFCCCA in coordination with TrackTown Productions, will be hosted by SportsCenter’s John Anderson with Carrie Tollefson and Bill Spaulding providing analysis and play-by-play.

The USTFCCCA's release is available here.

NOTE: The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) contributed to this report.

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