Oct. 2, 2012

Regional Poll

National Poll

TUCSON - University of Arizona Wildcat women's cross country jumped into the top five of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) national poll this week. The UA women now sit at No. 2, the poll was released on Tuesday.

After earning a first-place finish in the 5,000-meter race at the Greater Louisville Classic last Saturday and beating then-No. 1 Washington, the women climbed 10 spots in the poll. Additionally, the women moved up four spots in the regional poll to now sit at No. 1 NCAA West Region.

"It is gratifying for us to be No. 2 right now," head coach James Li said. "It's nice they are talking about us but we still have a long way to go. However, I'm extremely proud of those young ladies for improving so much this year. It's basically the same group from last year and they have improved so much. Having such a strong showing in Louisville, they started recognizing us. It doesn't mean anything, other than they are talking about us right now. We're very happy and satisfied to see the ladies working hard in every way and we can see the improvement."

The UA women are joined by two other Pac-12 teams in the top five and four overall in the top 30. Washington fell two spots to No. 3, Oregon dropped one spot to No. 4, Stanford fell one spot to No. 7 and Colorado fell three spots to No. 18.

In the west regional poll, six other Pac-12 schools join Arizona. Washington is second, Oregon is third, Stanford is fourth, Arizona State is seventh, California is eighth and UCLA is 10th.

On the men's side, four Pac-12 schools are in the national poll. Colorado stayed at No.7, Stanford moved up one spot to No. 8, Oregon climbed eight spots to No. 15 and UCLA moved up three spots to No. 27.

The men's squad fell five spots to No. 9 in the NCAA West Region after earning a seventh-place finish in the 8,000-meter race at the Greater Louisville Classic. However, sophomore Lawi Lalang and senior Stephen Sambu did finish in first and second place, respectively. Stanford is second in the region, Oregon is third, UCLA is fourth, Arizona State is fifth, Washington State is seventh, Washington is eighth and California is 10th.

The men's and women's cross country squad will return to action on October 6th for the Grand Canyon Invitational in Goodyear, Ariz.