Butler Climbs To 12th In Men's Cross Country Poll

Oct. 1, 2002

The men's cross country team at Butler, coming off its best performance of the young 2002 season, has climbed to No. 12 in the Mondo Men's NCAA-I Cross Country Poll, conducted by the United States Cross Country Coaches Association. It's the highest national ranking ever achieved by the Bulldogs, who were ranked 25th in the national poll a week ago.

The dramatic jump followed Butler's performance at the Great American Cross Country Festival in Charlotte, N.C. The Bulldogs placed third in the meet, finishing just four points behind No. 8 ranked Georgetown. Butler, which was competing with its full squad for the first time this season, finished ahead of No. 7 North Carolina State, No. 17 Colorado State and No. 18 Duke in the 8K race in North Carolina.

Stanford remains the top-ranked team in the nation, followed by Arkansas, Colorado, Northern Arizona and Oregon. Rounding out the "Top 10" are Villanova, Eastern Michigan, Georgetown, Weber State and Wisconsin. BYU holds down the No. 11 spot, seven points ahead of the Bulldogs.

Butler is ranked third in the Great Lakes Region behind Eastern Michigan and Wisconsin.