2020 NCAA DI Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll – Week 7
NEW ORLEANS – A cross country season unlike any other deserves an NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll unlike any other.
For the first time in history, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is releasing National Coaches’ Polls the day of Conference Championships Friday. With teams being chosen for the rescheduled 2020 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Sunday via a live selection show on NCAA.com at 1 pm ET, member coaches felt it would be prudent to shed light on who they believe are the top-30 teams in the nation.
Remember: You can watch all of the action from the OSU Cross Country Course on Monday, March 15, LIVE on ESPNU & the ESPN App beginning at 12:30 pm ET.
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There were no changes to the order of the top-7 teams, as BYU is still the near unanimous No. 1 with 10 first place votes, Northern Arizona sits No. 2 with the lone remaining first-place ballot, with No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 Tulsa, No. 6 Oklahoma State and No. 7 Iowa State all in order behind them – just like in Week 6.
Stanford made it look easy at the Pac-12 Championships on Friday, putting all five of its scoring athletes in the top-10. The Cardinal, led by individual runner-up Charles Hicks, thumped a field with several other nationally-ranked programs by 32 points (Stanford beat Colorado, 28-60).
Speaking of the Buffs, they moved up one spot from Week 6 to No., 8 based on their runner-up effort at Chambers Bay Regional Park, while third-place Washington dropped two spots to No. 10. Notre Dame also got a bump from Colorado’s effort and took over the No. 9 position.
Further down, MAAC champion Iona is now ranked No. 12. The Gaels recorded a perfect score at the Seaview Golf Resort, sending its top-3 runners across in near identical times – Jack O’Leary won the individual title in 24:28.1, followed by Jamie Dee and Ehab El-Sandali both in 24:28.2 (Officials gave Dee runner-up honors with El-Sandali third).
Mountain West champion Air Force, BIG EAST champion Butler and FSU Winter XC Last Chance winner Syracuse all found themselves in a new spot. The Falcons soared to No. 19, while the Bulldogs went from No. 28 to No. 22. The Orange got new life and is ranked No. 25 after receiving just one vote in Week 6.
This is the final National Coaches’ Poll of the 2020 season, which began way back in September. We’ll have final Regional Rankings on Tuesday, which is just six days out from the national championships.
