Whenever the casual fan looks at the NCAA weekly rankings compiled by the USTFCCCA, they usually just see a school next to a number. My goal with the weekly roundup is to bring a brief analysis of the past weekends results, and upcoming competitions for the teams ranked in NCAA Division I XC. This will be done by looking at the movement within the rankings of certain teams, and looking at which teams may have dropped out or moved into the rankings. In the first edition I have only gone off of the pre-season rankings, and only looked at the top 10 teams on the men's side (we'll try to get women next week). Next week we'll look to expand the list and see which ranked teams will be pitted against each other as we move throughout the season.

 

Please send any feedback, ideas, or interest in contributing to dwilliams@flotrack.org

 

 

1. Oregon

 

Weekend Performance- Did not race.

 

Previous Meets- Oregon’s only meet so far was the Pre’s Trail Run when they handily beat Portland State in the dual meet.

 

Next Week- The men of Oregon host the Dellinger Invitational which should be one of the most competitive meets of the month. Expect the Ducks to bring out their top dogs, as six teams in the top 30 will be at Dellinger: Oregon (1), Portland (8), Alabama (10), BYU (12), Cal poly (21), Villanova (30), and UTEP (NR*)

 

2. Oklahoma State

 

Weekend Performance- Did not race.

 

Next Week- The Cowboys host the 73^rd annual Cowboy Jamboree. Northern Arizona (5), Tulsa (11), and New Mexico State (26) will all be in attendance.

 

Cowboy Jamboree Coverage- http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view/234566-2009-brooks-cowboy-jamboree

 

3. Stanford

 

Weekend Performance- The Cardinal had quite an impressive showing at their home invitational Saturday, finishing the championship race with a 15-point beat down over neighbors Cal (NR*), UC Davis, and Chico State. Despite rumors of the course being short, Stanford looked good in their season opener with four of the top five runners finishing together in 23:54.

 

Next Week- Stanford travels north to compete at the UC Davis Doc Adams Invitational.

 

4. Wisconsin

 

Weekend Performance- Did not race

 

Previous Meets- The Badgers were 2^nd at the Iona Meet of Champions (Sep 19), and 1st at the UW Cross Country Classic (Sep 4).

 

Next Week- Expect the full squad to show up at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on Saturday when the Badgers host Georgetown (9), BYU (12), Auburn (13), Arkansas (18), Michigan (22), Syracuse (NR*), Lamar (NR*), and Duke (NR*).

 

5. Northern Arizona University

 

Weekend Performance - Did not race.

 

Previous Meets- NAU ran B squads at both the Aztec Invitational (Sep 19) and their home opener, The George Kyte Classic (Sep 5). Diego Estrada who was NAU’s 4^th man at NCAA’s last year won the Aztec Invite easily in 24:57.

 

Next Week- The Lumber jacks will most likely be running a B squad at the ASU Invitational on Friday while the top runners will be at the Cowboy Jamboree on Saturday.

 

6. Colorado

 

Weekend Performance - Did not race.

 

Previous Meets- CU had a time trial on September 5 at their home course but doesn’t open up true team competition until this weekend.

 

Next Week- Colorado hosts the Rocky Mountain Shootout on Saturday, which usually consists of Colorado schools like Adams, Western, and CSU. It will be interesting to see when CU will display their full squad which returns 5 guys from their 12^th place finish at NCAA’s last year.

 

7. Iona

 

Weekend Performance - Did not race.

 

Previous Meets- The Gaels have not been at full strength yet this season while running in two low key meets, The Seawolves Invitational (Sep 5), and the Meet of Champions (Sep 19).

 

Next Week- Iona heads to the Brooks Paul Short Run where they will take on Villanova (30), and Princeton (NR*).

 

Brooks Paul Short Coverage- http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view/234568-2009-brooks-paul-short-run

 

8. Portland

 

Weekend Performance - Did not race.

 

Previous Meets- UP hosted the West Coast Preview at Pier Park on Sep. 11, but ran a mixed squad that didn’t include any of their top returners from NCAA’s.

 

Next Week- The Pilots head south to take on in state rivals Oregon at the Dellinger Invitational on Friday.

 

9. Georgetown

 

Weekend Performance – Did not race.

 

Previous Meets- Georgetown opened up their season on Sep. 12 at the James Madison Invitational in Virginia. They ran a mixed squad and placed 2^nd out of 9 teams.

 

Next Week- The Hoyas take a trip to Madison on Saturday to challenge the Badgers at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational.

 

10. Alabama

 

Weekend Performance - Alabama was set to compete at the Pre-SEC Invitational in Mississippi, but the meet was cancelled due to poor weather.

 

Next Week- The Crimson Tide will roll into Eugene on Friday to mix it up with fellow top 10 teams Oregon (1) and Portland (8).

 

 

Notes:

 

NR*- Not Ranked, but received preseason top 30 votes.

 

Preseason Rankings- http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-i-rankings

 

This coming weekend (Oct 2-3) Flotrack coverage continues as we head to Stillwater, Oklahoma and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree and Lehigh's Paul Short Run.

 

Brooks OSU Cowboy Jamboree:

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view/234566-2009-brooks-cowboy-jamboree

 

Brooks Paul Short Run:

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view/234568-2009-brooks-paul-short-run