Willamette Women's Cross Country Team Stays at #25 in NCAA Division III Poll

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

SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University women's cross country team remained at #25 for the second week in a row in this week's NCAA Division III Poll released by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Bearcat men's team received votes but was not ranked in the Top 35.

In this week's West Region Rankings, the WU women's team held its previous position at #2, while the men's team stayed at #3.

At the top of the women's National Poll was Johns Hopkins University (Md.) with 280 points and all eight first place votes. Wartburg College (Iowa) followed at #2 with 270 points,. Middlebury College (Vt.) was ranked #3 at 266.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology owned the #4 ranking with 255 points, while Williams College (Mass.) was #5 with 240 points. The University of Chicago (Ill.) was #6 after receiving 235 points.

West Region teams other than Willamette in the women's National Poll were Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) at #7 and Whitworth University at #33.

North Central College (Ill.) was ranked #1 in the men's National Poll with all eight first place votes and 280 points. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse held the #2 ranking with 272 points and Washington University (Mo.) was listed at #3 with 264 points.

Williams moved up one spot to #4 and received 249 points. St. Olaf College (Minn.) also advanced one position to #5 with 240 points. New York University improved by two spots to #6 with 224 points.

Teams in the West Region placed two squads among the Top 35 men's teams in the poll. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was listed at #19 and Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) held the #28 spot.

In the women's West Region Rankings, CMS was the #1 team. Willamette was next and Whitworth was #3. California Lutheran University was #4 and the University of Puget Sound was listed at #5. Other Northwest Conference teams included Lewis & Clark College at #7, Linfield College at #8 and Whitman College at #9.

CMS also topped the men's West Region Rankings. Pomona-Pitzer was chosen for #2 and Willamette followed at #3. The University of California-Santa Cruz held #4 and Puget Sound was #5. Joining Willamette and Puget Sound from the NWC were Whitman at #7 and Linfield at #8.

The Willamette men's and women's cross country teams will compete at the Brooks Invitational in Winneconne, Wis., on Saturday, Oct. 19. Hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the meet will feature many of the top NCAA Division III teams and will be held at the Lake Breeze Golf Club starting at 11:15 a.m. (CST)/9:15 a.m. (PDT).

A total of about 1,000 runners -- roughly 500 in each race -- participated in the Brooks Invitational last year. Willamette placed eighth in the women's team standings and finished 11th in the men's team standings.