Viking men move up one spot in USTFCCCA D2 poll after strong outing at Pre-Nationals...
NEW ORLEANS--Western Washington's men's cross country team (Jonah Bloom/WWU Athletics photo) moved up one spot in the latest USTFCCCA Division II national coaches' poll after a strong showing at the NCAA Division II Pre-Nationals meet Saturday at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place.
The Vikings, who finished fourth at the Pre-Nationals behind number 1 Colorado School of Mines, number 6 Chico State, and number 9 Western Colorado, were the top team from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in the 27-team field, and put themselves as solid favorites to win the GNAC meet on November 5th in Monmouth, Oregon.
Simon Fraser, which finished sixth at Pre-Nationals, is the only other GNAC school ranked in the national top 30, coming in at number 25.
The nation's top five men's teams are, in order: Colorado School of Mines, Adams State, Grand Valley State, Wingate, and Lee of Tennessee.
The Western Washington women's team, which finished eighth at Pre-Nationals, dropped out of the national top 30. The Vikings were ranked number 29 going into Pre-Nats, were beaten by two unranked teams in Cal State East Bay, and Concordia University Irvine.
The Vikings, were however, the top team from the GNAC in the meet, beating out Simon Fraser in ninth by four points, 242 to 246. The close score between Western Washington & Simon Fraser indicates that the Red Leafs, who are the defending women's champs, will not concede the title easily.
The top five women's team in this week's poll are in order: Adams State, Grand Valley State, Colorado School of Mines, UC-Colorado Springs, and Augustana of South Dakota.
NOTE: The USTFCCCA and the sports information office of Western Washington University contributed to this report.
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