Men's Cross Country Ranked No. 1
September 12, 2006 | Men's Cross Country
Senior Chris Solinsky heads a powerhouse Wisconsin team that's favored to repeat as NCAA champions, according to the first Division I men's cross country poll released by U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Despite the graduation of two-time NCAA individual champion Simon Bairu, Wisconsin returns five of its top seven runners from the 2005 season. In addition to Solinsky (third), Coach Jerry Schumacher also returns sophomore Matt Withrow (ninth), sophomore Stu Eagon (17th), senior Tim Nelson (18th) and sophomore Christian Wagner (58th).
The Badgers also have one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, featuring four athletes who finished among the top 19 at the 2005 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. Ryan Craven (Mount Prospect, Ill.), Landon Peacock (Morley, Mich.), Jack Bolas (Chapel Hill, N.C.) and Noah Shannon (Fort Collins, Colo) placed third, fifth, sixth and 19th, respectively, at the national meet.
Wisconsin won last year's NCAA title with 37 points, far in front of runner-up Arkansas (105). Last year's top two teams are picked to finish in the same order this fall.
Rounding out the men's top 10 behind Wisconsin in the USTFCCCA rankings are Arkansas, Colorado, Stanford, Texas, Iona, Portland, Arizona, Oklahoma State and Kansas.
Solinsky gives Wisconsin a battle-tested senior at the front of the pack. Solinsky followed up his third-place finish at last year's cross country nationals with wins at the NCAA indoor (3,000 meters) and NCAA outdoor (5,000 meters) meets.
Second-ranked Arkansas has won 11 NCAA cross country titles under legendary coach John McDonnell, but none since 2000. The Razorbacks' top returnee is Peter Kosgei, the 12th-place finisher at last year's nationals. Kosgei is joined by All-American Kenny Cormier, Shawn Forrest and Adam Perkins, among others.
Colorado is ranked third, two spots higher than its 2005 NCAA finish. The Buffaloes return a strong core of All-Americans ' Brent Vaughn, James Strang, Stephen Pifer and Billy Nelson.
Fourth-ranked Stanford lost just one runner from the team that finished sixth at last year 's NCAA meet. Neftalem Araia was eighth in 2004 and 11th last year, and he 'll be joined by veteran runners Jacob Gomez, Brett Gotcher, Jonathan Pierce and Rolf Steier.
No. 4 Texas returns Joe Thome, 15th at last year's nationals, as well as Jake Morse and Leonel Manzano. Manzano won the 1,500 meters at the 2005 NCAA outdoor track and field championships.
Five other Big Ten Conference teams are also ranked in the top 30--Ohio State (16th), Michigan (18th), Minnesota (23rd), Iowa (27th) and Michigan State (28th).
The weekly USTFCCCA rankings are determined by a committee of NCAA Division I coaches. Updated rankings will be posted each Tuesday at www.ustfccca.org.
