Falcon women & Viking men ranked in USTFCCCA national pre-season cross country poll...

NEW ORLEANS--The Seattle Pacific women's squad and the Western Washington men's team enter the 2021 season ranked in the USTFCCCA's pre season national poll released Wednesday.

The Falcons are ranked number 21 in the national women's pre-season poll, while the Vikings, who return Shorecrest HS grad Mac Franks (photo courtesy WWU Athletics) from the team that qualified for the 2019 NCAA cross country championships, open at number 24 in the national men's pre-season poll.

The country's top five Division II women's teams in the coaches' poll are in order: Grand Valley State, Adams State, Augustana (South Dakota), Colorado School of Mines, and Southern Indiana.

Simon Fraser at number 11, and Alaska Anchorage at number 27 are the other two schools from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference ranked in the poll.

On the men's side, Grand Valley State, Colorado School of Mines, Adams State, Chico State, and Western Colorado are the nation's top five schools in the pre-season poll.

No other schools from the GNAC are ranked in the national top 30. 

With the exception of a meet between Seattle Pacific and Central Washington in February, no Washington GNAC schools competed in cross country in the 2020-21 season, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The USTFCCCA release is available here, while the GNAC release is available here.

Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific open with the Puget Sound Invitational on Saturday, while Western Washington and Central Washington open the 2021 campaign next week in Ellensburg.

NOTE: The USTFCCCA and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference contributed to this report.

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