By Eric Spresser, Student Assistant Athletics Communications Director
SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University women's cross country team is ranked #16 in the NCAA Division III National Coaches' Poll this week as the Bearcats continue to prepare for their next competition, the 41st Annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational on Saturday, October 3rd.
The women started the season off with a superb second place finish in the Ash Creek Invitational held at Western Oregon University on Sept 11. The women advanced to #15 in the nation in last week's rankings after beating NCAA Division I opponent University of Portland along with six NCAA Division II teams. With this past weekend off from running, the Bearcats slipped down one position to #16.
Willamette is one of two Northwest Conference representatives rated in the women's top 35. Whitworth University jumped three spots in the latest rankings up to #32.
Johns Hopkins University (Md.), the defending national champion in women's cross country, sits at #1 in the latest poll released by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Johns Hopkins received 280 points and all eight first place votes. Massachusetts Institute of Technology continues to be ranked #2 this week with 272 points.
SUNY Geneseo (N.Y.) is third in the poll with 264 points while St. Lawrence University (N.Y.) sits at #4 with 254 points and Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) rounds out the top five with 247 points.
Also ranked in the top 10 of the women's national poll are Williams College (Mass.) at #6 with 243 points, Middlebury College (Vt.) at #7 with 230 points, Hope College (Mich.) at #8 with 223 points, Calvin College (Mich.) at #9 with 212 points, and University of Chicago (Ill.) at #10 with 209 points.
In the NCAA Division III Men's Poll, North Central College (Ill.), the defending men's champion, is ranked #1 with all eight first place votes and 280 points. St. Olaf College (Minn.) comes in at #2 with 269 points, while Amherst College (Mass.) is #3 with 267 points.
The only new team in the top 5 of the men's poll is Washington University (Mo.), which jumped three spots to the #4 position with 256 points. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire slipped down one position to the #5 spot at 244 points.
The West Region rankings held steady with the Willamette women's team still ranked at #2. Willamette's men also held their position in the West Region rankings at #3.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) heads up the West Region women's rankings. After Willamette at #2, the rankings include Whitworth at #3, Colorado College at #4 and University of California, Santa Cruz at #5. Joining the Bearcats and Pirates from the NWC are Pacific Lutheran University at #8 and Whitman College at #10.
In the West Region men's rankings, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is #1, with Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) at #2 and Willamette at #3. University of Puget Sound continues to be ranked #4 and Occidental College (Calif.) is listed at #5. Other NWC teams ranked in the West Region are Whitworth at #6 and Whitman at #7.