Arkansas Moves up to No. 2 in Cross Country Poll

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After a dominating team performance at the Iona College Meet of Champions over the weekend, the Razorback cross country team moved up to No. 2 in the United States Cross Country Coaches Association’s (USCCCA) MONDO Men’s Cross Country Poll released on Tuesday. Arkansas was given four first-place votes and 465 points and is only two points behind the current No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers (467). Wisconsin picked up eight first-place votes. When UA advanced in the poll the Hogs displaced the defending NCAA champion Colorado Buffalos. CU also earned four first-place votes, but only have 458 points in the No. 3 spot.

UA remains the only Southeastern Conference team found in the top 30 and it is one of two teams from the South Central Region listed in the poll. Arkansas had been listed as the third-best team in the country for the past two weeks, but proved it deserved to be ranked higher when the Hogs went head-to-head against then seventh-ranked Iona College and came away with a 20-point victory on a tough Van Cortlandt Park course. UA finished 57 points ahead of the second-place Gaels.

For the third-consecutive week Arkansas was ranked No. 1 in the South Central Region. Texas sits in second place and Rice is No. 3. Texas A&M is fourth and Baylor rounded at the top five. Baylor will host the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on Nov. 12, in Waco, Texas. The 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championships will be held on Nov. 21, in Terre Haute, Ind., at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.

The Razorbacks will return to the trails this weekend when they travel to Stillwater, Okla., for the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree. The men’s collegiate race is slated to start at 9:40 a.m. on Oct. 1.

MONDO MEN’S NCAA-I CROSS COUNTRY POLL Ranking
Team (first place votes)
Points

1. Wisconsin (8) 467

2. Arkansas (4) 465

3. Colorado (4) 458

4. BYU 429

5. Stanford 412

6. Notre Dame 394

7. Arizona 384

8. Iona College 357

9. Texas 348

10. Iowa 335

11. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 313

12. Georgetown 286

13. UTEP 272

14. Michigan 263

15. William & Mary 246

16. Ohio State 239

17. North Carolina State 201

18. Florida State 198

19. Indiana 166

20. Minnesota 164

21. Air Force 154

22. Portland 142

23. Arizona State 130

24. Kansas 101

25. American 86

26. Colorado State 74

27. Virginia 61

28. Providence 58

29. Northern Arizona 49

30. Butler 43

South Central Region Poll

1. Arkansas

2. Texas

3. Rice

4. Texas A&M

5. Baylor

6. Stephen F. Austin

7. LSU

8. UT-Pan American

9. Sam Houston

10. TCU

11. North Texas

12. Lamar

13. A&M-Corpus Christi

14. Houston