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Sept. 12, 2006
The Virginia men’s and women’s cross country teams have both been ranked 26th by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association, as announced by the organization today. Both teams finished 26th in the NCAA Championships last year.
The men, who won the ACC title last year, welcome back six of the eight runners from that championship team for the 2006 season. Virginia is the second-ranked ACC team in the men’s poll behind Florida State, who is ranked 17th.
The women, who qualified for the NCAA championships in 2005 after a gutsy regional meet, also race in the highly-competitive ACC. Six ACC schools are ranked in the poll, with Duke, N. C. State, UNC, Florida State and Wake Forest joining the Cavaliers. Virginia defeated Wake Forest to win the Lou Onesty Invitational, hosted by the Cavaliers on Sept. 9.
“This is a preseason poll, and it’s great to get started,” said head coach Jason Dunn. “It’s ironic in that both the men and the women finished 26th at NCAAs last year, so it’s a great reference point for us to begin the 2006 season, right where we left off.”
The Cavaliers return to action on Sept. 23 as Virginia travels to Minnesota to compete at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn.