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Sept. 26, 2006
The Virginia men’s cross country team moved up 12 spots to the No. 14 slot in the national polls, as announced by the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) today. The women’s team also moved up in the poll to No. 22 as both teams turned in solid performances at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis on Sept 23.
Following a third place finish in which the men upset then-No. 10 Kansas and then-No. 20 Arizona State, the Cavaliers have earned their highest ranking in recent history. Virginia is led by Jan Foerster, the current ACC Performer of the Week, who came in 14th at the Griak Invitational. He finished just seconds ahead of Andrew Dumm and Andy Biladeau, giving the Cavaliers a significant front pack that helped push Virginia to the top-three finish.
Emily Harrison’s fifth-place finish was the top result for an individual in the ACC at the meet, and she helped the Cavaliers to a sixth-place finish overall at the Griak Invitational.
“It’s exciting to see the men ranked higher that they ever have,” said Randy Bungard, the Director of Track and Field/Cross Country at Virginia. “We hope that this becomes commonplace and not an occasional, uncommon occurrence. This isn’t something that has happened overnight. Putting adequate resources into the program, a great home facility, and Jason’s coaching and recruiting has been the impetus behind the team being where they are.”
Virginia returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 30 as the B team will compete at the Tribe Interregional Challenge in Williamsburg. On October 14, the Cavaliers will travel to Terre Haute, Indiana to compete in the Pre-Nationals meet on the course of the 2006 NCAA Championships.
Men's Rankings1. Wisconsin (15) 4502. Arkansas 4323. Colorado 4124. Stanford 4015. Iona 3826. Texas 3777. Arizona 3558. Portland 3449. Oklahoma State 30910. BYU 28111. UTEP 27312. Minnesota 27013. Georgetown 24614. Virginia 22715. Michigan 20116. Notre Dame 19817. Oregon 19118. Ohio State 18419. Arizona State 17520. Alabama 16421. Iowa State 14622. William & Mary 14023. Dartmouth 12924. Florida State 12125. Butler 10026. Florida 9027. Providence 7428. Eastern Michigan 7029. American 6130. Princeton 44
Women’s Rankings1. Stanford (13) 3902. Colorado 3693. Michigan 3664. Oklahoma State 3435. Duke 3286. BYU 3217. Illinois 3188. Arkansas 2899. Wisconsin 26010. Washington 25611. UC Santa Barbara 25112. North Carolina State 24713. Princeton 24114. Arizona State 22915. Baylor 20616. Providence 19017. Iowa 18618. Tennessee 18319. Minnesota 16320. Michigan State 13021. Boston University 11422. Virginia 10023. Georgetown 9524. Colorado State 8125. North Carolina 7526. Indiana 6227. Georgia 5028. Oregon 4729. Florida State 4030. Butler 25