Colorado University Athletics
Junior Dani Jones
Photo by: Ken Moreland
Women Picked First, Men Fifth, In USTFCCCA Preseason Poll
August 29, 2017 | Cross Country
BOULDER — The Colorado women's cross country team is the preseason favorite, while the men are ranked fifth in the USTFCCCA rankings, which were released Tuesday afternoon.
The women received eight of 12 first-place votes for 355 points to claim the top spot over reigning NCAA Champion Oregon, which picked up two first-place votes and 331 points. Michigan, ranked third in the poll, recorded the other two first-place votes (330 points). New Mexico was picked fourth (323), while Stanford (313) rounded out the top five.
The CU women's team returns all five scorers from the 2016 NCAA Championships, which includes four All-Americans. Dani Jones led the pack and was followed by Kaitlyn Benner, Mackenzie Caldwell and Sage Hurta. Makena Morley and Tabor Scholl also finished well at the meet and will be back. Another Buff who will likely make an impact is redshirt freshman Madie Boreman, who placed second at the NCAA Championships last June in the steeplechase. The Buffs were third at NCAAs after winning the Pac-12 and NCAA Mountain Region titles in 2016.
The men recorded one first-place vote and 323 points in the preseason poll for their fifth place position. Northern Arizona, the 2016 NCAA Champion, is first with 349 points and seven first-place votes. Stanford was ranked second with 347 points and three first-place nods, while Syracuse recorded 335 points and the remaining first-place vote for third. Arkansas recorded just one more point than the Buffs (324) to place fourth.
This is the sixth straight year the Buffs have started the season ranked in the top five.
The CU men return a pair of All-Americans, John Dressel and Joe Klecker. CU also returns Ryan Forsyth, Reilly Friedman, Christian Martin and Zach Perrin from the team that placed sixth at NCAAs. CU also has six redshirt freshmen who will be looking to earn positions on the varsity squad. The Buffs placed sixth at NCAAs after winning the Pac-12 Championship for the sixth straight year and placing second at regionals.
In the regional polls, which were released on Monday, the women were ranked first, while the men were second behind Northern Arizona.
The first meet of the season for Colorado is this Friday, Sept. 1, as the Buffs will travel north to Fort Collins, Colo. for the Colorado State Invitational.
The women received eight of 12 first-place votes for 355 points to claim the top spot over reigning NCAA Champion Oregon, which picked up two first-place votes and 331 points. Michigan, ranked third in the poll, recorded the other two first-place votes (330 points). New Mexico was picked fourth (323), while Stanford (313) rounded out the top five.
The CU women's team returns all five scorers from the 2016 NCAA Championships, which includes four All-Americans. Dani Jones led the pack and was followed by Kaitlyn Benner, Mackenzie Caldwell and Sage Hurta. Makena Morley and Tabor Scholl also finished well at the meet and will be back. Another Buff who will likely make an impact is redshirt freshman Madie Boreman, who placed second at the NCAA Championships last June in the steeplechase. The Buffs were third at NCAAs after winning the Pac-12 and NCAA Mountain Region titles in 2016.
The men recorded one first-place vote and 323 points in the preseason poll for their fifth place position. Northern Arizona, the 2016 NCAA Champion, is first with 349 points and seven first-place votes. Stanford was ranked second with 347 points and three first-place nods, while Syracuse recorded 335 points and the remaining first-place vote for third. Arkansas recorded just one more point than the Buffs (324) to place fourth.
This is the sixth straight year the Buffs have started the season ranked in the top five.
The CU men return a pair of All-Americans, John Dressel and Joe Klecker. CU also returns Ryan Forsyth, Reilly Friedman, Christian Martin and Zach Perrin from the team that placed sixth at NCAAs. CU also has six redshirt freshmen who will be looking to earn positions on the varsity squad. The Buffs placed sixth at NCAAs after winning the Pac-12 Championship for the sixth straight year and placing second at regionals.
In the regional polls, which were released on Monday, the women were ranked first, while the men were second behind Northern Arizona.
The first meet of the season for Colorado is this Friday, Sept. 1, as the Buffs will travel north to Fort Collins, Colo. for the Colorado State Invitational.
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