The William and Mary men's cross country team was rewarded for its outstanding weekend Tuesday, leaping into the USTFCCCA National Poll at No. 23. It is the first time the Tribe has appeared in the national top-30 since the final poll of the 2010 season, when it was ranked 16th.
W&M's new national respect comes after beating four ranked teams Friday at the Paul Short Invitational, where the Tribe finished second overall. The College put four runners in the top-17 finishers of the meet, the only team to do so at the meet, and all four finished within six seconds of each other. At the five big national meets held last weekend, only six teams total placed at least four runners in the top-17, and of those, W&M's spread of six seconds was smaller than half that of the next squad. This is the 102nd time in 126 rankings since the start of the 1995 season that the Tribe has appeared in the national top-30.
W&M also took a rise in the Southeast Regional rankings released Monday, lifting from seventh to second behind only Eastern Kentucky (#20 nationally). It is the Tribe's highest ranking in the region since taking the top spot in the final 2009 poll. W&M has won the region championship 11 times, including three years in a row from 2008-10.
William and Mary's next races will come on Oct. 13, with the squad appearing at two events. The varsity runners while compete at the Pre-National Invitational in Louisville, Ky., while the majority of the team will host the Tribe Open in Williamsburg. The next national poll will come out on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
| Oct. 2 USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll |
| Rank |
Team (First Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Wisconsin (8) |
352 |
| 2 |
Oklahoma State (2) |
347 |
| 3 |
BYU (2) |
343 |
| 4 |
Oklahoma |
315 |
| T5 |
Iona |
301 |
| T5 |
Portland |
301 |
| 7 |
Colorado |
286 |
| 8 |
Stanford |
263 |
| 9 |
Tulsa |
258 |
| 10 |
Syracuse |
242 |
| 11 |
Princeton |
235 |
| 12 |
Villanova |
212 |
| 13 |
Notre Dame |
196 |
| 14 |
Florida State |
193 |
| 15 |
Oregon |
184 |
| 16 |
Minnesota |
156 |
| 17 |
Columbia |
148 |
| 18 |
Northern Arizona |
147 |
| 19 |
Arkansas |
136 |
| T20 |
Georgetown |
125 |
| T20 |
Eastern Kentucky |
125 |
| 22 |
Texas |
124 |
| 23 |
William and Mary |
121 |
| T24 |
Michigan |
68 |
| T24 |
Georgia |
68 |
| 26 |
Indiana |
57 |
| 27 |
UCLA |
54 |
| 28 |
New Mexico |
52 |
| 29 |
Virginia |
45 |
| 30 |
Missouri |
35 |
| RV - Kansas, Texas A&M, N.C. State, Iowa State, Arizona, Dartmouth, Florida, Virginia Tech, Washington State |
| Southeast Region Rankings |
| Ranking |
Team |
Last Week |
| 1 |
Eastern Kentucky |
2 |
| 2 |
William and Mary |
7 |
| 3 |
Virginia |
3 |
| 4 |
N.C. State |
1 |
| 5 |
Duke |
5 |
| 6 |
North Carolina |
8 |
| 7 |
Virginia Tech |
4 |
| 8 |
Louisville |
6 |
| 9 |
Wake Forest |
10 |
| 10 |
George Mason |
9 |
| 11 |
Davidson |
NR |
| 12 |
Appalachian State |
12 |
| 13 |
High Point |
14 |
| 14 |
Liberty |
13 |
| 15 |
Kentucky |
15 |
