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Ole Miss Cross Country Cracks National Rankings For The First Time
OXFORD, Miss. – Fresh
off a strong performance at the Pre-National Invitational this past
weekend, the Ole Miss women’s cross country team broke into the
national rankings at No. 30 in this week’s U.S. Track & Field and
Cross Country Coaches Association Division I Coaches Poll.
This
is the first time in Ole Miss history that either the men’s or women’s
cross country team has been ranked in the national poll.
“This
was one of the goals that they set for themselves before the start of
the season,” second-year head coach Brian O’Neal said. “I’m proud of
these young ladies.”
Only three SEC cross country
teams appear in the national rankings this week. The Arkansas women are
second and the Razorback men are 12th. Florida is receiving votes in
the men’s poll, while Texas A&M and Vanderbilt are receiving votes
on the women’s side.
The Rebels were led at
Pre-Nationals by freshman Michaela Quinn, who placed 17th out of 340
with a 6K time of 20:33.95, and junior Haley Cutright, who placed 34th
with a time of 20:52.05. Quinn and Cutright were the third and fourth
Rebels to run the 6K under 21 minutes in program history and helped
their squad to a 12th-place team finish in Terre Haute, Ind. Quinn
received SEC Freshman Runner of the Week honors on Tuesday.
Arizona
is ranked No. 1 in the USTFCCCA women’s poll for the first time, while
the Razorbacks are No. 2 and Georgetown is No. 3. Providence and
Florida State round out the women’s top five.
Colorado
is this week’s new No. 1 on the men’s side, while Northern Arizona is
No. 2 and Oklahoma State is No. 3. Oregon and BYU round out the men’s
top five.
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