Oct. 6, 2008
NEW ORLEANS -
The Illinois State men's cross country team moved up to No. 9, while the women's cross country team remained at No. 15, in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Midwest Regional Weekly Poll as announced by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Monday.
Head coach Jeff Bovee was pleased with his teams rankings, however he feels that each team has the ability to move forward and are working towards getting into the top-five by the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship meet (Nov. 15 in Stillwater, Okla.).
"Running against all the teams we ran against at Notre Dame gave us and the pollsters a chance to see where we stood in relation to other teams," said Bovee. "Now that all of the regional teams have officially started to run, we will start collecting points to earn at-large bids to the NCAA Championship (Nov. 24, 2008 in Terre Haute, Ind). The men's regional rankings are a lot more solidified than what they were earlier this season. However, with many more weeks left to go in the season a lot could change. We are still working to get into the top-five."
The regional polls are released weekly and change according to how teams perform over theprevious weekend. Illinois State competed at the Notre Dame Invitational Friday, with the men competing in the top-tier Blue Division five-mile race and the women in the second-tier Gold Division 5K.
The Redbird men finished the race in 18th place in a field of 25 regionally and nationally ranked teams, while the Redbird women finished fifth in a 23 team event.
"Our women ran very well at Notre Dame," Bovee said. "If you look at the marks, they all ran all-time or season-bests. We finished closely behind the 10th-ranked team in the region, Northwestern. I think that in the next few weeks, when we get a chance to run against some ranked teams that are ahead of us, we will fare well and continue to climb the ladder."
