Bulldogs Climb In National Cross Country Polls

Oct. 18, 2006

The men's and women's cross country teams both made a jump in the national polls following last weekend's performance at the Brooks Pre-National Meet hosted by Indiana State University. Butler's women climbed from 29th to 27th in the national rankings, while Butler's men moved from 29th to 28th in the poll released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Stanford maintained the top spot in the women's national poll, followed by North Carolina State and Michigan. Wisconsin remained atop the men's poll, followed by Colorado and Iona. The Bulldogs have been ranked in each poll released this season.

Butler turned in a pair of solid efforts at the Brooks Pre-National Meet, which featured 45 of the top 60 men's and women's teams in the nation. Butler's men placed 10th in a field of 36 teams, while Butler's women came in 12th in a field of 37 squads. The Bulldogs finished ahead of No. 22 Ohio State, No. 24 Iowa State and No. 26 Dartmouth in the men's competition and ahead of No. 14 Washington, No. 15 Oklahoma State and No. 27 Villanova in the women's race.

Bulldogs Sweep League Player of the Week Honors:

Butler seniors Scott Overall and Ava Hutchinson were rewarded for their performances at the Brooks Pre-National Meet by being named Horizon League Cross Country Athletes of the Week.

Overall established himself as one of the elite runners in the nation with a top-10 individual finish at the meet. He placed ninth in the competition with a time of 25:53, missing a "Top 5" finish by just seven seconds.

Hutchinson paced Butler's women at the meet and posted a 32nd place finish in 20:55. She was just five seconds shy of a "Top 25" individual finish.