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Cal’s Women Leap to Tenth from Unranked in Latest National Coaches’ Poll

NEW ORLEANS – On Tuesday, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its week three national cross country coaches’ poll for the 2011 NCAA Division I season. The top five men's teams and the top nine women's teams stood their ground from last week's standing, but a few shifts occurred, including the jump from unranked to tenth by the women of Cal after their tied-first place performance at last weekend's Griak Invitational.

PDF: National Rankings Summary | Week-by-Week

Cross Country Rankings Central

2010 NCAA Championships (final results)

List of This Weekend's Known Meets

AROUND THE POLLS

MEN

-- Top five remained unchanged for the second-straight week.

-- Season-best positions on the poll were achieved this week by No. 6 Indiana, No. 9 NC State, No. 14 BYU, No. 20 Minnesota, and No. 26 Eastern Michigan. NC State was the winning team at Minnesota's Griak Invitational last weekend over then-No. 10 Portland and then-No. 24 Minnesota.

-- Michigan is in the top 30 for the first time this season, debuting at 28th.

-- Arizona State (tied 29th) returns to the poll for the first time since the preseason.

-- The Big East with six teams in the poll leads all conferences, followed by the Big Ten (5) and Pac-12 (4).

-- This weekend will be a busy one as 27 ranked teams are slated to be in action ... The Notre Dame Invitational is scheduled to have eight ranked teams on hand as No. 3 Stanford, No. 10 Florida State, and No. 12 Princeton headline the group ... Lehigh's Paul Short Run is expected to have eight ranked teams, including a split Princeton group, in tow as well as No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Iona ... Oklahoma is also listed for the Cowboy Jamboree which has six ranked teams on the docket, including top-ranked host Oklahoma State and No. 6 Indiana ... No. 2 Wisconsin will visit No. 8 Oregon for the Bill Dellinger Invitational ... No. 7 Colorado hosts the Rocky Mountain Shootout ... No. 9 NC State stays near home with the Great American Cross Country Festival in Raleigh.

WOMEN

-- The top nine in the poll were unchanged for the second-straight week.

-- Cal leaped from unranked (but receiving votes) to the tenth spot in the poll after managing a first-place tie with No. 8 Iowa State at the Griak Invitational. Cal defeated seven ranked teams, including then-No. 10 Arizona. The ranking is the Golden Bears' highest-ever poll ranking (since 1995), topping their previous best of No. 22 last year. Cal's best showing at the NCAA Championships was ninth in 1988.

-- Arkansas was also unranked last week, but now stands at 18th after defeating then-No. 19 West Virginia and then-No. 29 at last weekend's Toledo Inter-Regional Bubble Buster.

-- Vanderbilt makes their first appearance in the coaches' poll this season and their first appearance in team history (at least since 1995 our records indicate). Vandy placed seventh at the Griak last weekend and topped then-No. 18 Penn State, then-No. 23 BYU, and then-No. 21 NC State.

-- Season-best rankings this week also go to: No. 12 Syracuse, No. 19 Michigan State, and No. 21 Minnesota.

-- The Pac-12 has six teams in the top 30 for the conference lead, followed by the Big East (5) and Big Ten (5).

-- Like for the men, this upcoming weekend will be an important one for women's teams around the country ... Our count has 23 ranked teams heading out this weekend ... Seven ranked teams are expected at Lehigh's Paul Short Run, including No. 1 Georgetown, No. 3 Providence, No. 5 Villanova, and No. 9 Duke ... Notre Dame's Invitational will have six ranked teams, including No. 2 New Mexico and No. 7 Florida State ... No. 4 Colorado hosts the Rocky Mountain Shootout.

The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held on Monday, November 21, in Terre Haute, Ind. NCAA Regional Championships will be held nine days prior on Saturday, November 12.

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Tom Lewis

U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association

Communications Manager

1100 Poydras St., Suite 1750

New Orleans, LA 70163

(O) 504-599-8904 (F) 504-599-8909

Email: tom@ustfccca.org

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