STILLWATER -
The Oklahoma State men's cross country team earned six first-place votes to claim the No. 1 spot in this week's United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national poll.
The Cowboys earned six first-place votes out of the possible 12 to claim the top spot. Wisconsin, the former No. 1, fell to 20th. Dropping out of this week's poll were Notre Dame, Minnesota, William & Mary, Virginia and Missouri. Making its debut this week was Duke at No. 11, and returning to the poll were Virginia Tech (21st), Iowa State (25th ), Texas A&M (29th ) and Kansas (30th ).
"There are honestly three or four really good teams, and it shows in the voting," said OSU head coach Dave Smith. "There are a few teams getting first-place votes, and we just happened to get a couple more than Colorado and they got a couple more than Stanford. Those three teams, plus BYU, Oklahoma and Texas, make it as much of a toss-up this year as it has been in a long time."
The Pokes' rise in the rankings had a lot to do with their solid showing at the Chile Pepper Invitational. The team finished in first place, taking six of the top 10 spots. Girma Mecheso finished in second place individually with a time of 30:13.8.
"It's only October 16, and we're ranked number one right now, but a lot can change," said Smith. "I think we're good, well prepared and fit and ready to go, but we're going to have to have a little bit of luck on our side. We're going to have to stay healthy and have to avoided illness, injury and fatigue, those are things that can be pitfalls this time of year. If we can avoid those things, we've got a chance to run of the championship."
The Cowgirls dropped five spots to No. 27 in the poll. Florida State held on to the top spot with 11 first-place votes, and Iowa State is No. 2, earning five votes. Dropping out of the Top 30 were San Francisco, Columbia, Butler, NC State and Wisconsin. Three teams made their debut in the rankings with Duke at No. 11, UCLA at 24th and Connecticut at 29th. Meanwhile, Texas (14th) and Florida (30th ) returned to the Top 30.
The Cowgirls are coming off a second-place finish, with Monika Juodeskaite also battling to a second-place finish with a time of 20:54.3.
Both teams have a weekend off and will return to action Oct. 27 when they travel to Austin, Texas, for the 2012 Big 12 Championships.
Men's National Poll
Rank Institution (FPV) Conference Last Week
1 Oklahoma State (6) Big 12 2
2 Colorado (4) Pac-12 7
3 Stanford (2) Pac-12 8
4 Iona Metro Atlantic 5
5 BYU West Coast 3
6 Oklahoma Big 12 4
7 Texas Big 12 22
8 Oregon Pac-12 15
9 Arkansas SEC 19
10 Columbia Ivy 17
11 Michigan Big Ten 24
12 New Mexico Mountain West 28
13 Eastern Kentucky Ohio Valley 20
14 Florida State ACC 14
15 UCLA Pac-12 27
16 Syracuse Big East 10
17 Portland West Coast 5
18 Duke ACC NR
19 Tulsa Conference USA 9
20 Wisconsin Big Ten 1
21 Virginia Tech ACC RV
22 Northern Arizona Big Sky 18
23 Princeton Ivy 11
24 Indiana Big Ten 26
25 Iowa State Big 12 RV
25 Villanova Big East 12
27 Georgetown Big East 20
28 Georgia SEC 24
29 Texas A&M SEC RV
30 Kansas Big 12 RV
Women's National Poll
Rank Institution (FPV) Conference Last Week
1 Florida State (11) ACC 1
2 Iowa State (1) Big 12 5
3 Oregon Pac-12 4
4 Stanford Pac-12 7
5 Arizona Pac-12 2
6 Washington Pac-12 3
7 Michigan Big Ten 8
7 Cornell Ivy 9
9 Georgetown Big East 6
10 Providence Big East 28
11 Duke ACC NR
12 Arkansas SEC 11
13 Penn State Big Ten 14
14 Texas Big 12 RV
15 Michigan State Big Ten 10
16 Weber State Big Sky 13
17 New Mexico Mountain West 19
18 William & Mary Colonial 17
19 Notre Dame Big East 16
20 Toledo Mid-American 15
21 Colorado Pac-12 18
22 Yale Ivy 30
22 Villanova Big East 24
24 UCLA Pac-12 NR
25 Minnesota Big Ten 27
26 Boston College ACC 21
27 Oklahoma State Big 12 22
28 Vanderbilt SEC 12
29 Connecticut Big East NR
30 Florida SEC RV
