Both Western and Central Washington women's teams make their debuts in this week's USTFCCCA D2 poll...
NEW ORLEANS--After a fifth and sixth place finish Saturday at the Lewis Crossover in Romeoville, Illinois, both previously unranked Western and Central Washington women's cross country teams (Paul Merca photo) were rewarded with a number 20 and 26 ranking in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division II coaches' poll released Wednesday.
At the Lewis Crossover, the Vikings were led by Ella Edens' (Paul Merca photo) third place finish over the 6k course, running 21:40, while the four other scorers placed inside the top 60.
The Wildcats put three runners in the top 25, led by Maddy Harrison's sixth place finish in 22:05. Payton Conover was eighth in 22:13, and Dawn Hulstedt was 22nd in 22:30.
While Western Washington has been a regular in the USTFCCCA D2 coaches' poll over the last twenty years, this marks the first time Central has been in the national poll since 2015.
The women's national top five are in order: Adams State, Wingate, Colorado School of Mines, Chico State, and Western Colorado.
Despite winning the Lewis Crossover, Western Washington dropped one spot in the national men's poll from the previous week, to number 10.
There was no change in the national top five, with Wingate, Colorado School of Mines, Adams State, West Texas A&M, and Grand Valley State staying in that order.
Western Oregon is the only other Great Northwest Athletic Conference school in the national top 30, remaining at number 23.
Both Western and Central Washington are off this week. Central returns to action on October 23rd at the Tyson Invitational in Spokane Valley, while Western hosts the WWU Lake Padden Invitational on the 24th in Bellingham.
NOTE: The USTFCCCA contributed to this report.
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