Washington and Gonzaga women climb in latest USTFCCCA Division I coaches' poll...

NEW ORLEANS--After a solid second place finish at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals last Saturday, the third ranked University of Washington women's cross country team moved one spot to second in the latest USTFCCCA Division I coaches' poll released Tuesday.

The Huskies ran in a field that included the top five teams in the coaches' poll entering the weekend in Northern Arizona, BYU, Notre Dame and defending national champion North Carolina State.

At the Pre-Nationals, BYU scored 105 points to the Huskies' 157, with number one ranked Northern Arizona third with 166 points. Number 28 West Virginia was fourth with 207, while fourth ranked Notre Dame was fifth with 216 points.

After Chloe Foerster's 16th place finish, the Dawgs had their numbers 2 through 6 runners finish in a span of 15 seconds, with India Weir (Paul Merca photo) finishing 28th, then Maeve Stiles in 30th, Julia David-Smith in 41st, Sophie O'Sullivan in 42nd, and Amina Maatoug in 51st.

After last weekend's meets, the nation's top five teams are the same order as the finish of the Pre-Nationals: BYU, Washington, Northern Arizona, West Virginia, and Notre Dame.

Teams from the Big Ten ranked in the top 30 include number 11 Wisconsin, number 17 Oregon, number 22 Minnesota, number 24 Penn State, and number 26 Michigan State.

Meanwhile, the Gonzaga women, which entered last weekend ranked number 18 in the national poll, moved to number 16 after winning the Arturo Barrios Invitational in College Station, Texas, where the Zags were the only nationally ranked team in the field.

Gonzaga remains the only team from the West Coast Conference ranked in the top 30.

Washington State, which won the B section of the Pre-Nationals, received a vote.

In the men' national poll, the Washington Huskies, who were ranked number 13 going into the Pre-Nationals, were not penalized as much for holding out five runners who competed at the Nuttycombe Invitational on the same Wisconsin course.

At Pre-Nationals, the Huskies held out their top four runners from the Nuttycombe: Tyrone Gorze, Leo Daschbach, Nathan Green & Evan Jenkins, plus Jamar Distel.

The Dawgs are ranked number 18 in this week's poll.

Arkansas' win at Pre-Nationals did little to sway the voters, as the men's top five are in order: Oklahoma State, BYU, Arkansas, Iowa State, and Stanford. Stanford was the only new team in the top five, replacing Notre Dame.

Teams from the Big Ten in the national top 30 include number 9 Wisconsin, and number 25 Oregon. 

Gonzaga, which raced the week before at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Springfield, Oregon, received votes, but remain outside the national top 30.

The only team from the West Coast Conference in the national top 30 remains Portland at number 28.

Next weekend is conference championship weekend, with Washington headed to the Big Ten championships in Champaign, Illinois, and Gonzaga & Washington State to the West Coast Conference meet in Lodi, California.

The women's national poll is available here, while the men's poll is available here. 

NOTE: The sports information offices of Gonzaga, Washington, Washington State, and the USTFCCCA contributed to this report.

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