Check out the Saucony Flo50 XC Countdown, where FloTrack ranks the top 31 cross country teams in the NCAA this season. The No. 22 spot goes to Weber State this year, and here's why:

Probable Top Five:

SR Hailey Whetten (9:50 3K; 16:47 5K ; 34:43 10K; 64th at '15 NCAA XC)
SR Ellie Child (9:33 3K; 16:40 5K; 10:09 3K SC; 115th at '15 NCAA XC)
SO Summer Harper ('13 Big Sky XC Champ; 156th at '13 NCAA XC)
SR Alice Neville (4:37 1500; 10:18 3K; 10:44 3K SC; 234th at '15 NCAA XC)
JR Paige Dilmore (18:16 5K; 11:02 3K SC; 189th at '15 NCAA XC)

Impact Freshmen/Transfers:

Katie Cornell via American Fork, UT (5:10 1600; 11:22 3200; 140th at '15 NXN)
Klarissa Andersen via Shelley, ID (2:16 800; 5:18 1600)
Fiona Aschenbrenner via Austria (4:45 1500; 10:08 3K)
Madison Romig via Fox Lake, IL (2:20 800; 5:00 1600)

Analysis:

The Weber State women finished 22nd at the NCAA cross country championship last year and come into the 2016 season ranked at the same spot. The Wildcats will run with all of the women that helped them earn their third-best finish in school history and will get an extra boost from a few new (and returning) runners.

Last year, Weber State's leader Hailey Whetten finished 64th in Louisville. After a successful outdoor season where she set a new PR of 34:43 in the Mt. SAC Relays 10K and was the Big Sky 10K champion, the senior is most likely to be the Wildcats' lowest stick for another season. Another returning veteran is senior Ellie Child who finished in the No. 2 spot for most races last fall. She finished sixth in the Mountain Regional, and was 115th at the NCAA championships. Like Whetten, Child captured a PR at Mt. SAC this spring by running 10:03 in the steeplechase, and brings great experience to guide this team. 

The Wildcats have another potential top-100 finisher in Summer Harper, who is returning for her sophomore year after taking a year off for her Mormon mission. During the 2013 cross country season, Harper was the Big Sky champion, finished eighth in the Mountain region, and 156th at the NCAA Championships. Depending on what kind of training she's been able to do since returning to Utah, Harper could hang with Child and Whetten to give Weber State a very solid top three.

Previously:
#23 Cal
#24 North Carolina
#25 BYU
#26 Virginia
#27 Villanova
#28 Vanderbilt
#29 Texas
#30 Florida Women
#31 Minnesota Women