Go Ducks!!

Vinny, Andy and Maurica

Okay, I can’t believe I’m saying this and my BYU buddies will probably forever hate me, but go Oregon! After looking at the latest DI cross country polls, I can’t help but give a shout out to Vin Lananna and Andy and Maurcia Powell (Seth’s old coach and two friends from Stanford.) While running for BYU and dating Seth, I admit I wasn’t that fond of dear old Vinny. Vinny didn’t really like the fact that Seth and I were dating, I guess according to him I was interfering with Seth’s running. Nonetheless, Seth and I are married with a baby due any day and Vinny has grown on me. In fact yesterday after reading a few press releases and the latest polls, I’ve decided that Vin Lananna is the Albus Dumbeldor of cross country and track and field. The sway and influence this guy has on the community, not to mention his coaching ability, its inspiring! Oregon has had a long history of good runners, but before Vinny came in 2005 that legacy was dying out. For example when was the last time Oregon’s women’s squad actually qualified a whole team for nationals….and now they’re freakn’ ranked second…..and they didn’t even run at pre nats!!! It’s amazing how fast that program has turned around!

So, while I will forever bleed blue for BYU, I might have to cheer a little for the Ducks, because what the program is accomplishing is exceptional. (I don’t think the Duck women can knock off the Cardinals though, McWalters and Lambie are just too good.)

Check out the latest cc news and polls below:

http://trackshark.com/

NEW ORLEANS - While top-ranked Oregon stayed close to home, Northern Arizona and UTEP took the long road this past weekend, journeying to Terre Haute, Ind. As a result, Northern Arizona and UTEP each leapfrogged more than a dozen schools in the Division I men's cross country rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. By placing a strong second behind top-ranked Stanford in Saturday's Blue Race, Florida State improved eight spots to third in the Division I women's poll by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Northern Arizona, UTEP crack top three in Division I men's poll
Oregon remains top team
Oct. 16, 2007

NEW ORLEANS - While top-ranked Oregon stayed close to home, Northern Arizona and UTEP took the long road this past weekend, journeying to Terre Haute, Ind.

The trip paid big dividends as the southwestern schools registered impressive wins in separate races at Pre-Nationals. As a result, Northern Arizona and UTEP each leapfrogged more than a dozen schools in the Division I men's cross country rankings released today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Oregon, the winner of Saturday's Mike Hodges Invitational in Clackamas, Ore., received all 13 first-place votes in this week's poll. But the next two schools in this week's poll benefited from the stiff competition in Terre Haute. Northern Arizona climbed 14 spots from last week to second this week, and UTEP improved even further, jumping 17 spots to No. 3.

Northern Arizona won the Blue Race at Pre-Nationals with 124 points, defeating second-place Iona by 12 points. UTEP won the White Race with 129 points as defending NCAA champion Colorado placed second with 155 points.
Northern Arizona's Lopez Lomong won the Blue individual title, covering the 8,000-meter course in 23 minutes, 2.3 seconds. Lomong is the reigning NCAA track champion in the 1,500 meters.

Liberty's Josh McDougal won the White Race in a course-record 22:56.4. It was the third Pre-Nationals win for McDougal.

UTEP won the White Race even though Colorado's top two runners, Stephen Pifer and Brent Vaughn, placed second and third individually. UTEP's Stephen Samoei and Patrick Mutai were eighth and 10th, but the Miners' fifth scorer crossed the line two spots ahead of Colorado's fourth finisher.

This week's top 10 consists of Oregon, Northern Arizona, UTEP, Iona, Colorado, Wisconsin, North Carolina State, Arkansas and California (tied for eighth), and Michigan.

California's third-place finish in the Blue Race at Pre-Nationals vaulted the Bears to a share of eighth in this week's poll after being unranked last week. Tulsa joined the rankings for the first time this season, earning the 17th spot after placing sixth in the Blue Race at Pre-Nationals.

The NCAA Championships will be held Nov. 20 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Course in Terre Haute.

The voting panel for the USTFCCCA Division I men's poll consists of nine elected regional representatives and four at-large members of the USTFCCCA. The rankings are compiled by Don Kopriva.

Stanford is ranked first in this week's Division I women's poll.
NCAA Division I men's cross country rankingsOct. 16, 2007(first-place votes, total points and previous ranking; NR: not ranked)

Team Points Previous
1. Oregon (13) 390 1
2.Northern Arizona 363 15
3.UTEP 357 T-20
4.Iona 346 4
5.Colorado 342 3
6.Wisconsin 325 2
7.North Carolina State 291 10
8.(tie) Arkansas 284 9
8.(tie) California 284 NR
10.Michigan 274 18
11. Virginia 248 29
12. Alabama 229 8
13. Notre Dame 224 7
14. Texas 218 11
15. Stanford 209 5
16. Georgetown 202 12
17. Tulsa 174 NR
18. Oklahoma State 171 6
19. (tie) Louisville 148 17
19. (tie) UCLA 148 19
21. Portland 142 13
22. Minnesota 139 24
23. Providence 111 14
24. Iowa State 98 23
25. Arizona State 79 T-20
26. BYU 75 NR
27. Cal Poly 63 30
28. William & Mary 46 16
29. Weber State 18 26
30. Florida 17 NR

Also receiving votes: Syracuse 15, Villanova 9, Florida State 2, Princeton 1.
Florida State makes big move in Division I women's cross country poll
Stanford tops list

Oct. 16, 2007
NEW ORLEANS - Florida State's women surged into the top ranks of collegiate cross country with its outstanding performance at Saturday's Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind.

By placing a strong second behind top-ranked Stanford in Saturday's Blue Race at the same facility that will be used for next month's NCAA Championships, Florida State improved eight spots to third in the Division I poll released today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Stanford won the Blue Race with 101 points behind the two-three finish of Teresa McWalters and Arianna Lambie. The two-time defending NCAA champion Cardinal received all 13 first-place votes in this week's USTFCCCA poll.

But the individual winner of the Blue Race was Florida State's Susan Kuijken, who clocked a record 19 minutes, 55.5 seconds over the 6,000-meter course. The Seminoles placed second in the Blue Race with 123 points.

Princeton, the winner of Saturday's White Race in Terre Haute, jumped four spots in this week's poll to fourth.

This week's top 10 consists of Stanford, Oregon, Florida State, Princeton, Arizona State, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Washington and Illinois.
The second 10 consists of Georgetown, Colorado State, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Colorado, Rice, BYU, Iowa, West Virginia and Northern Arizona.

Colorado was ranked second in last week's poll. The Buffalos dropped 13 spots to No. 15 even though its top runner, Jenny Barringer, won the White Race in Terre Haute. Barringer broke Kuijken's minutes-old course record by clocking 19:48.3 to finish eight seconds in front of North Carolina standout Brianna Felnagle.

Texas Tech's women improved 10 spots to 14th following their win at Saturday's Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark. With Sally Kipyego and Irene Kimaiyo finishing one-two, Texas Tech won the women's title title with 83 points, defeating host Arkansas by four points.

Second-ranked Oregon also didn't compete at Pre-Nationals. The Ducks placed their top five runners in the top 11 in easily winning the Mike Hodges Invitational in Clackamas, Ore. The 2007 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will be held Nov. 19 in Terre Haute.

The voting panel for the Division I women's poll consists of nine elected regional representatives and four at-large USTFCCCA members. The rankings are compiled by Jesse Rosen.

NCAA Division I women's cross country rankingsOct. 16, 2007(first-place votes, total points and previous ranking; NR: not ranked)

Team Points Previous
1. Stanford (13) 390 1
2. Oregon 368 3
3. Florida State 365 11
4. Princeton 358 8
5. Arizona State 332 6
6. Michigan 320 13
7. Michigan State 317 9
8. Minnesota 294 4
9. Washington 280 12
10. Illinois 264 10
11. Georgetown 251 22
12. Colorado State 234 14
13. Arkansas 231 5
14. Texas Tech 221 24
15. Colorado 214 2
16. Rice 202 7
17. BYU 192 15
18. Iowa 161 23
19. West Virginia 155 21
20. Northern Arizona 151 NR
21. Wisconsin 128 25
22. Providence 109 18
23. North Carolina State 96 26
24. UC Santa Barbara 92 27
25. Virginia Tech 86 19
26. Penn State 64 30
27. Florida 53 20
28. Boston College 41

29. Georgia 40 28
30. Nebraska 14 29

Also receiving votes: Kentucky 5, North Carolina 4, Baylor 2, Columbia 1.