Butler Cross Country Receives Regional Rankings

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- The Butler men’s and women’s cross country teams both will begin the 2011 season with a “Top 15” regional ranking.  The Butler men are ranked seventh in the Great Lakes Region, while Butler’s women are ranked 15th in the U. S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Preseason Regional Rankings for the 2011 NCAA Division I season.

Defending regional champ Wisconsin topped the men’s Great Lakes Region Poll, followed by Indiana, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan and Michigan State.  The Bulldogs were the only team not from either the Big Ten or the Big East to be ranked among the top nine in the poll.

Michigan, last year’s regional runner-up, topped the women’s Great Lakes Region rankings.  Rounding out the top five squads were Toledo, Michigan State, Indiana and Ohio State.

Butler’s men placed sixth at the 2010 Great Lakes Region Meet, while the Butler women finish 11th.  The Bulldogs have won 13 consecutive men’s titles in the Horizon League, while Butler’s women have captured the league title in eight of the past nine years.

Butler will open the 2011 cross country season at the Illini Challenge in Urbana, Ill., on Friday, Sept. 2.