Men's Cross Country Reappears in National Rankings
November 01, 2011 | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 1, 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After a strong third-place finish at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships on Oct. 29 at E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park, the University of Louisville men's cross country team has reappeared in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's poll at No. 26, the New Orleans-based organization announced Tuesday.
The Cardinals opened the year ranked 20th in the preseason poll and reached as high as No. 19 in the Sept. 13 poll, the best mark in program history since reaching No. 13 in 2007. The squad appeared in the next two polls, but fell out in the Oct. 4 edition. Louisville was receiving votes in last week's poll.
Redshirt senior Matt Hughes paced the Cardinal men at the league championships with a third-place finish and all-BIG EAST honors for the second-straight year. Sophomore Tyler Byrne recorded a solid 18th-place showing, while redshirt junior Gordon Dooley (No. 22) and redshirt senior Matt Bruce (No. 24) placed in the top 25.
Currently, the BIG EAST and Big Ten each have the most men's top-30 teams in this week's poll with five apiece.
Louisville, which is ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Southeast Region, returns to action in two weeks at E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park on Nov. 12 for the NCAA Southeast Regional. This marks the third-straight year the course has been home to the meet.
For all of the latest information on Louisville cross country and track and field, log on to UofLsports.com, or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account at www.twitter.com/louisvilletrack.
| USTFCCCA Men's Cross Country Rankings (Nov. 1, 2011) | |||||
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region | Conference | Last Week |
| 1 | Wisconsin (7) | 355 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | 2 |
| 2 | Oklahoma State (5) | 352 | Midwest | Big 12 | 1 |
| 3 | BYU | 326 | Mountain | West Coast | 3 |
| 4 | Colorado | 318 | Mountain | Pac-12 | 6 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 312 | Midwest | Big 12 | 5 |
| 6 | Stanford | 305 | West | Pac-12 | 4 |
| 7 | Indiana | 286 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | 7 |
| 8 | Portland | 267 | West | West Coast | 8 |
| 9 | Iona | 264 | Northeast | Metro Atlantic | 10 |
| 9 | Princeton | 264 | Mid-Atlantic | Ivy | 9 |
| 11 | Texas | 212 | South Central | Big 12 | 11 |
| 12 | Northern Arizona | 210 | Mountain | Big Sky | 13 |
| 13 | Villanova | 204 | Mid-Atlantic | BIG EAST | 16 |
| 14 | NC State | 195 | Southeast | ACC | 19 |
| 15 | Arkansas | 194 | South Central | SEC | 15 |
| 16 | Florida State | 172 | South | ACC | 18 |
| 17 | Oregon | 162 | West | Pac-12 | 23 |
| 18 | Minnesota | 160 | Midwest | Big Ten | 12 |
| 19 | Michigan | 145 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | 21 |
| 20 | Eastern Kentucky | 137 | Southeast | Ohio Valley | 17 |
| 21 | UCLA | 109 | West | Pac-12 | 20 |
| 22 | Columbia | 96 | Northeast | Ivy | 28 |
| 23 | Georgetown | 94 | Mid-Atlantic | BIG EAST | RV |
| 24 | Texas A&M | 89 | South Central | Big 12 | 24 |
| 25 | North Carolina | 60 | Southeast | ACC | 30 |
| 26 | LOUISVILLE | 48 | Southeast | BIG EAST | RV |
| 27 | Tulsa | 43 | Midwest | Conference USA | 27 |
| 28 | Ohio State | 41 | Great Lakes | Big Ten | 26 |
| 29 | Syracuse | 38 | Northeast | BIG EAST | NR |
| 30 | Providence | 36 | Northeast | BIG EAST | 14 |
| Others Receiving Votes: Cal Poly 18, Washington State 17, Arizona State 14, Florida 12, New Mexico 10, California 8, Notre Dame 4, Lamar 3, Utah State 1. | |||||
Players Mentioned
