Just in time for one of the most important meets of the season β the Joe Piane Invitational β Week 3's USTFCCCA poll highlights a few top-10 teams who might be in jeopardy of losing their spots.
But before we get carried away with this weekend's races, let's look back at the performances of Week 2, and how the product of those events on for the men's and women's cross country are viewed in Week 3's USTFCCCA poll.
ESSENTIALS: What you need to know for the 2019 cross country season
The men's top 6 stays intact
Two of the top 10 teams were idle in Week 2, which explains a lack of change. The two that did perform, however, had near opposite results in Saturday's Bill Dellinger Invitational hosted by Oregon. BYU men placed second with Conner Mantz (first) and Jacob Heslington (eighth) finishing in the top 10, so the Cougars sustained their No. 2 ranking.
Conner Mantz has been named National Athlete of the Week for his incredible performance this past Saturday at the Bill Dellinger Invitational! ππππ₯ https://t.co/YMlgnoflXF
β BYU Track and Field (@BYUTFXC) September 30, 2019
Portland, on the other hand, visited Oregon ranked No. 7 and left with a fifth-place finish. It seems like the Pilots' performance was underwhelming to the voters as reflected in their No. 11 ranking β a drop of four places.
In turn, Oregon now holds the No. 7 spot that Portland once had. The Ducks' home-field advantage during the Dellinger Invitational helped their first-place finish, in which they had three men place inside the top 10.
REVENGE: Which teams can challenge Northern Arizona this season
Other notable jumps include Virginia's climb from No. 22 to No. 17 and UCLA's from No. 24 to No. 20. In addition, Boise State and Alabama entered back into the top 30.
Check out the full men's rankings below:
RANK |
TEAM |
POINTS |
PREVIOUS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Northern Arizona (10) | 329 | 1 |
2 | BYU | 302 | 2 |
3 | Washington | 292 | 3 |
4 | Colorado | 289 | 4 |
5 | Iowa State | 285 | 5 |
6 | Stanford (1) | 281 | 6 |
7 | Oregon | 276 | 11 |
8 | Oklahoma State | 237 | 8 |
9 | Notre Dame | 225 | 9 |
10 | Wisconsin | 222 | 10 |
11 | Portland | 221 | 7 |
12 | Syracuse | 199 | 12 |
13 | Colorado State | 166 | 14 |
14 | Ole Miss | 163 | 15 |
15 | NC State | 155 | 13 |
16 | Michigan | 151 | 16 |
17 | Virginia | 150 | 22 |
18 | Wyoming | 138 | 17 |
19 | Indiana | 124 | 18 |
20 | UCLA | 122 | 24 |
21 | Purdue | 108 | 19 |
22 | Middle Tennessee | 107 | 21 |
23 | Iona | 105 | 20 |
24 | Princeton | 88 | 23 |
25 | Arkansas | 76 | 25 |
26 | Eastern Kentucky | 53 | 28 |
27 | Tulsa | 52 | 26 |
28 | Boise State | 48 | NR |
T-29 | Alabama | 23 | NR |
T-29 | Villanova | 23 | 29 |
Surprises trickle into the women's top 10
The top 10 has been shaken up in Week 3's women's cross country poll after four of the 10 schools participated in invitationals on Saturday. But two idle teams surprisingly now share a ranking. New Mexico and Arkansas are tied at No. 2. This is the Razorbacks highest placement since 2013.
BYU moved from No. 6 to No. 4 after placing first in the Dellinger Invitational where three Cougars finished in the top 4.
This weekend @BYUTFXCβs Whittni Orton led the Cougars to victory at the Bill Dellinger Invitational.
β NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) October 1, 2019
With Whittni taking the individual title, the Cougars Top 5 finished 1-2-4-11-17 for 3οΈβ£5οΈβ£ points.pic.twitter.com/WW1ub8WkvE
Wisconsin and Michigan State moved up one spot to No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. The Badgers placed third in the Loyola Lakefront Invitational, while the Trojans finished ninth in the Big Ten Preview.
No. 15 Syracuse, No. 16 Iowa State and No. 17 Florida State each moved up two spots.
Newly entering the top 30 are Air Force, Illinois, Oregon State and Cal Baptist.
Check out the full women's rankings below:
RANK |
SCHOOL |
POINTS |
PREVIOUS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Colorado (7) | 313 | 1 |
2 | Arkansas (1) | 312 | 3 |
2 | New Mexico (2) | 312 | 2 |
4 | BYU (1) | 295 | 6 |
5 | Stanford | 281 | 5 |
6 | Washington | 274 | 4 |
7 | Michigan | 261 | 7 |
8 | NC State | 249 | 8 |
9 | Wisconsin | 235 | 10 |
10 | Michigan State | 231 | 11 |
11 | Boise State | 219 | 13 |
12 | Notre Dame | 217 | 12 |
13 | Oregon | 202 | 9 |
14 | Ole Miss | 185 | 14 |
15 | Syracuse | 174 | 17 |
16 | Iowa State | 150 | 18 |
17 | Florida State | 120 | 19 |
18 | Furman | 117 | 15 |
19 | Oklahoma State | 115 | 20 |
20 | Air Force | 110 | RV |
21 | Illinois | 89 | RV |
22 | Penn State | 74 | 16 |
23 | Ohio State | 73 | 21 |
24 | Oregon State | 60 | RV |
25 | Boston College | 58 | 26 |
26 | Columbia | 52 | 24 |
27 | Northern Arizona | 51 | 25 |
27 | Princeton | 51 | 23 |
29 | Minnesota | 49 | 22 |
30 | Cal Baptist | 46 | RV |