The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Cross Country ranked No. 23 in USTFCCCA Preseason Poll
08.26.2014 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Cross country season begins this week when the Longhorns head to the Baylor Invitational on Friday. In preparation for the upcoming season, USTFCCCA has announced its preseason rankings and the Texas men are among the top teams in the nation at No. 23.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Cross country season begins this week when the Longhorns head to the Baylor Invitational on Friday. In preparation for the upcoming season, USTFCCCA has announced its preseason rankings and the Texas men are among the top teams in the nation at No. 23.
The men's squad comes in ranked No. 23 nationally after finishing finished 14th at the NCAA Championships last season. The Longhorns return some key runners from a year ago, including All-American Craig Lutz. But have lost fellow All-American Ryan Dohner.
Lutz finished 15th at last year's NCAA meet and also took fourth place at the NCAA South Central Regional and sixth at the Big 12 Championships. With Dohner taking 11th place at the NCAA Championships, Texas was the only team with two runners in the top 15.
Part of the men's ranking comes from being ranked No. 2 in the South Central Region heading into this season. In the region, the Longhorns trail only Arkansas as the Razorbacks finished 12th at the NCAA Championships last year.
On the women's side, the Longhorns are not ranked nationally but are among the top team in the South Central Region. Texas comes in at No. 5 in the region as Arkansas also is ranked No. 1 for the women with SMU, Texas A&M and Baylor rounding out the Top Five.
Defending champion Providence enters the 2014 campaign ranked 18th for the women, while men's defending champions, the Colorado Buffaloes, are a unanimous choice at No. 1, receiving all 12 votes in the poll. Five different women's teams received first-place votes, with Michigan grabbing the top spot overall with six first-place votes.
With five different teams receiving first-place votes for the women, it could be an unpredictable year for cross country with no clear cut favorite entering the season. Each of the last four years, the No. 1-ranked team in the preseason poll went on to win the NCAA crown.
A total of seven Big 12 Conference teams are ranked in the USTFCCCA Top 30 national. For the men, Oklahoma State leads the charge at No. 4. The Cowboys finished third at last year's NCAA meet. Iowa State's men enter the year ranked No. 26, and Oklahoma stands at No. 28. Iowa State is the top-ranked women's team in the Big 12 at No. 9. Oklahoma State (19) and West Virginia (20) close out the Big 12's ranked teams for the women. Baylor's women are receiving votes in the poll.
Players Mentioned
