University of Minnesota Athletics
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/ Men's Track & Field
Photo by: Christopher Mitchell
Gopher Women Improve to Seventh in National Rankings
9/28/2021 12:52:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota women's cross country program moved up three spots in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll this week to No. 7, as was announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Tuesday morning.
Tuesday's poll gave the Gophers their highest ranking of the season. The last time Minnesota ranked amongst the top-seven came in the USTFCCCA's final poll of the previous season, when the Gophers finished fifth following the conclusion of the NCAA Championships.
Minnesota also became the top ranked team in the Big Ten Conference following Tuesday's poll, surpassing formerly sixth-ranked Michigan State. The women now lead five other nationally ranked Big Ten teams in Michigan (eight), Michigan State (17th), Indiana (21st), Illinois (23rd) and Wisconsin (26th).
Regionally, the women retained their top spot in the Midwest region, edging out Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Illinois and Northwestern in second through fifth, respectively. On the men's side, Minnesota improved in the regional rankings to fifth in the Midwest, trading spots with Wichita State (sixth) from last week's poll.
The Maroon and Gold earned the rankings boost this past weekend at the 35th running of the Roy Griak Invitational, where the women finished 30 points ahead of runner-up Iowa State to claim the title with 53 team points and four runners in the top 10. The men earned a fourth place team finish at the home opener with 137 points, finishing behind No. 5 BYU (34 points), No. 6 Iowa State (35 points) and No. 30 Michigan State (87 points). The team-high performance for the men belonged once again to Alec Basten, who finished 10th in a time of 24:51.2.
Minnesota will split up this Friday, Oct. 1 for their next race, with a majority of the team heading to Eau Claire, Wis. for the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invite while a small contingent of Gopher women will travel to South Bend, Ind. for Notre Dame's Joe Piane Invite. Race time in Indiana is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m., and start times in Eau Claire are set for 4:15 p.m. for the men and 5:15 p.m. for the women.
Tuesday's poll gave the Gophers their highest ranking of the season. The last time Minnesota ranked amongst the top-seven came in the USTFCCCA's final poll of the previous season, when the Gophers finished fifth following the conclusion of the NCAA Championships.
Minnesota also became the top ranked team in the Big Ten Conference following Tuesday's poll, surpassing formerly sixth-ranked Michigan State. The women now lead five other nationally ranked Big Ten teams in Michigan (eight), Michigan State (17th), Indiana (21st), Illinois (23rd) and Wisconsin (26th).
Regionally, the women retained their top spot in the Midwest region, edging out Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Illinois and Northwestern in second through fifth, respectively. On the men's side, Minnesota improved in the regional rankings to fifth in the Midwest, trading spots with Wichita State (sixth) from last week's poll.
The Maroon and Gold earned the rankings boost this past weekend at the 35th running of the Roy Griak Invitational, where the women finished 30 points ahead of runner-up Iowa State to claim the title with 53 team points and four runners in the top 10. The men earned a fourth place team finish at the home opener with 137 points, finishing behind No. 5 BYU (34 points), No. 6 Iowa State (35 points) and No. 30 Michigan State (87 points). The team-high performance for the men belonged once again to Alec Basten, who finished 10th in a time of 24:51.2.
Minnesota will split up this Friday, Oct. 1 for their next race, with a majority of the team heading to Eau Claire, Wis. for the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invite while a small contingent of Gopher women will travel to South Bend, Ind. for Notre Dame's Joe Piane Invite. Race time in Indiana is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m., and start times in Eau Claire are set for 4:15 p.m. for the men and 5:15 p.m. for the women.
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