By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University women's cross country team remained in the #9 ranking, and the Bearcat men's cross country team claimed the #31 ranking, in the NCAA Division III Polls released by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday, Nov. 5.

In addition, the Bearcat women's team is ranked #1 in the West Region and the Willamette men's team is ranked #2 in the West Region.

Willamette won the NWC men's and women's team championships this past Saturday (Nov. 1) at Bush's Pasture Park in Salem, Ore. The titles were Willamette's 10th overall in women's cross country and the 22nd overall in men's cross country. Taylor Ostrander (Jr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) was the individual champion in the women's 6-kilometer race.

Johns Hopkins University (Md.) kept the #1 ranking in the women's National Poll with all eight first place votes and 280 points. St. Lawrence University (N.Y.) held the #2 spot with 272 points. Middlebury College (Vt.) was #3 with 264 points.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology continued at #4 with 255 points, while SUNY Geneseo (N.Y.) stayed at #5 with 245 points. Williams College (Mass.) moved up one position to #6 and received 236 points. Washington University (Mo.) also advanced one spot into the #7 ranking with 235 points.

Calvin College (Mich) dropped two spots into the #8 ranking with 229 points. Willamette was #9 and received 214 points. SUNY Oneonta (N.Y.) rounded out the Top 10 with 199 points.

Overall, three West Region had three teams in the women's National Poll. In addition to the Bearcats, other West Region teams were Claremont-Mudd Scripps at #16 and Whitworth University at #32.

North Central College maintained the #1 spot in the men's National Poll with all eight first place votes and 280 points. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire stayed at #2 with 271 points. St. Olaf College (Minn.) moved up one position into the #3 ranking with 262 ponts. Williams followed closely at #4 with 259 points.

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse kept its spot at #5 in the poll with 248 points. Colby College (Maine) advanced one spot to #6 with 239 points, while St. Lawrence moved up three positions to #7 with 224 points.

MIT also jumped three spots to become the #8 team with 223 points, just one point behind St. Lawrence. SUNY Geneseo fell from #8 a week ago to #9 this week with 207 points. Washington (Mo.) made a leap of three positions to #10 and received 202 points.

Clarmeont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) was the top West Region team in the men's National Poll. Willamette represented the West Region at #31.

In the women's West Region Rankings, Willamette continued to hold the #1 spot. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was still #2 and Whitworth remained at #3. University of Puget Sound advanced on position to #4, while Whitman College fell one spot to #5. Also ranked from the Northwest Conference was Lewis & Clark College at #10.

CMS and Willamette each moved up one position from a week ago in the men's West Region Rankings. The Stags took over the #1 ranking, while the Bearcats claimed the #2 ranking. Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) dropped from the #1 ranking down to #3, after placing behind CMS in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet.

Puget Sound retained the #4 ranking and Whitman remained at #5. Whitworth from the NWC was listed at #6.

Willamette will return to Bush's Pasture Park on Saturday, Nov. 15 to host the NCAA Division III Northwest Regional. Action is set to begin with the men's 8-kilometer race at 10 a.m. (PST), followed by the women's 6-kilometer race at 11 a.m. The top two teams in each race will receive automatic berths into the NCAA Division III Championships.