FAYETTEVILLE,Ark. - The Razorbacks received a third-place ranking with 420 points today in the MONDO Men's NCAA-I Cross Country Poll. The MONDO Top 25 Poll is conducted by the United States Cross Country Coaches Association.
"That's the way it should be," Arkansas head coach John McDonnell said. "Teams like Colorado put all their money into cross country, the same with Stanford. They should be up there. If we stay healthy, that's not the way it's going to finish. We've got a good team."
Colorado is ranked in the top spot with 449 points, while Stanford is in second place with 429. Alabama is the only other Southeastern Conference school ranked in the top 25 with a No. 22 ranking.
Last Friday the SEC Cross Country Coaches Poll picked the Razorbacks to capture the conference title. Arkansas received nine first place votes, while Alabama received one. Coach McDonnell and his Hogs are the winners of 28 straight conference crowns, 11 in the SEC and 17 in the Southwest Conference. Capturing a 12th-straight SEC title would extend Arkansas' winning streak to 29, and McDonnell is confident in his team's ability to continue their dominance.
"That's our plan," McDonnell said. "Alabama could have a good team, but we don't know much about them. It's always nice to be ranked number one. We just have to live up to it."
After finishing third at the 2001 NCAA Cross Country Championships the Hogs have five returners that placed in last year's contest. Junior Alistair Cragg captured third place, junior Silverus Kimeli finished 13th, junior Daniel Lincoln placed 19th, sophomore Jason Sandfort came in 32nd, while junior Chris Mulvaney took the 157th spot. There are also some very talented newcomers joining the squad this year. Freshmen Said Ahmed, Luis Bordes, James Hatch and Michael Taylor all red-shirted last year and are looking to contribute in a big way.
Arkansas will open the cross country season on September 7, at the Arkansas Invitational held on the Razorback Cross Country Course. The 10K Chile Pepper Run will also be hosted by the Razorbacks on October 19.
2002 SEC Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll (First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
Team (First Place Votes)
Points 1. Arkansas (9)
81 2. Alabama (1)
73 3. Tennessee
65 4. Florida
54 5. Kentucky
45 6. Georgia
44 7. Auburn
32 8. LSU
30 9. Ole Miss
17 10. Vanderbilt
9
2002 MONDO MEN'S NCAA-I CROSS COUNTRY POLL Ranking
Team (First Place Votes)
Points 1
Colorado (14)
449 2
Stanford (1)
429 3
Arkansas
420 4
Wisconsin
400 5
Northern Arizona
392 6
Villanova
354 7
North Carolina State
342 8
Providence
337 9-Tie
Georgetown
300 9-Tie
Oregon
300 11
BYU
291 12
Eastern Michigan
273 13
Arizona State
270 14
Michigan State
265 15
Portland
163 16-Tie
Colorado State
161 16-Tie
William & Mary
161 18
Weber State
159 19
Dartmouth
156 20
Duke
146 21
Iona
136 22
Alabama
132 23
Indiana
123 24
Butler
120 25
Notre Dame
100 26
Minnesota
93 27
Washington
90 28
Michigan
50 29 - Tie
Oklahoma State
40 29 - Tie
Texas
40 Also receiving votes: SMU 35, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 31, Arizona 28, Air Force 27, Tennessee 22, UC-Santa Barbara 21, Nebraska 17, Penn State 12, New Mexico 11, Ohio State 4, Florida State 1.
