The cross country preseason national rankings have just been released, and the Villanova squads are among the nation's best. The Villanova men start the season ranked #17 (and #2 in the Mid-Atlantic Region), while the two-time defending national champion Villanova women come in ranked #5 (also #2 in the Mid-Atlantic Region). On the women's side, Georgetown, which returns 6 of their top 7 runners from 2010, is ranked #1 nationally, having reeceived 10 of the 12 first-place votes. New Mexico and Providence each received a single first-place vote. For the men, it's defending national champions Oklahoma State at #1, also with 10 of the 12 first-plave votes.
By all accounts, the Villanova men are expected to improve their performance from 2010, when they finished 23rd in the final poll, while the women are expected to have difficulty executing a three-peat national title run. Most of Villanova's top men return for 2011 (minus Hugo Beamish, but with the addition of Ryan Sheridan, who sat out last season after transferring from Iona), while the women have to deal with the loss of All-Americans Amanda Marino and Ali Smith from their top five.
PRESEASON NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY RANKINGS -- MEN
Rank Institution Points Region Conference Location 2010 FINAL
1 Oklahoma State (10) 357 Midwest Big 12 Stillwater, Okla. 1
2 Stanford (1) 342 West Pac-12 Palo Alto, Calif. 4
3 Wisconsin (1) 335 Great Lakes Big Ten Madison, Wis. 3
4 Oregon 299 West Pac-12 Eugene, Ore. 6
5 Iona 292 Northeast Metro Atlantic New Rochelle, N.Y. 8
6 Oklahoma 288 Midwest Big 12 Norman, Okla. 5
7 Colorado 284 Mountain Pac-12 Boulder, Colo. 15
8 Florida State 261 South ACC Tallahassee, Fla. 2
8 Indiana 261 Great Lakes Big Ten Bloomington, Ind. 7
10 Portland 252 West West Coast Portland, Ore. 13
11 Princeton 225 Mid-Atlantic Ivy Princeton, N.J. 12
12 Northern Arizona 223 Mountain Big Sky Flagstaff, Ariz. 9
13 NC State 222 Southeast ACC Raleigh, N.C. 20
14 Syracuse 218 Northeast Big East Syracuse, N.Y. 14
15 Arkansas 201 South Central SEC Fayetteville, Ark. 10
16 BYU 192 Mountain West Coast Provo, Utah 18
17 Villanova 153 Mid-Atlantic Big East Villanova, Pa. 23
18 Providence 148 Northeast Big East Providence, R.I. 22
19 Virginia 134 Southeast ACC Charlottesville, Va. 17
20 Louisville 131 Southeast Big East Louisville, Ky. 28
21 New Mexico 110 Mountain Mountain West Albuquerque, N.M. 16
22 Georgetown 82 Mid-Atlantic Big East Washington, D.C. 29
23 Notre Dame 79 Great Lakes Big East South Bend, Ind. 25
24 Texas 78 South Central Big 12 Austin, Texas 26
25 Ohio State 66 Great Lakes Big Ten Columbus, Ohio DNQ
26 Florida 65 South SEC Gainesville, Fla. DNQ
27 Minnesota 58 Midwest Big Ten Minneapolis, Minn. 27
28 Eastern Kentucky 40 Southeast Ohio Valley Richmond, Ky. DNQ
29 Arizona State 30 West Pac-12 Tempe, Ariz. DNQ
30 Dartmouth 24 Northeast Ivy Hanover, N.H. DNQ
Others Receiving Votes: Alabama 20, Penn State 20, North Carolina 17, William & Mary 17, Michigan State 13, Washington 12, Michigan 10, Lamar 6, Arizona 4, Texas A&M 2, Columbia 1.
PRESEASON NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY RANKINGS -- WOMEN
Rank Institution Points Region Conference Location 2010 FINAL
1 Georgetown (10) 358 Mid-Atlantic Big East Washington, D.C. 4
2 New Mexico (1) 334 Mountain Mountain West Albuquerque, N.M. 5
3 Providence (1) 333 Northeast Big East Providence, R.I. 9
4 Colorado 324 Mountain Pac-12 Boulder, Colo. 6
5 Villanova 308 Mid-Atlantic Big East Villanova, Pa. 1
6 Florida State 278 South ACC Tallahassee, Fla. 2
7 Stanford 276 West Pac-12 Palo Alto, Calif. 13
8 Arizona 242 West Pac-12 Tucson, Ariz. 11
9 Duke 241 Southeast ACC Durham, N.C. 17
10 Iowa State 236 Midwest Big 12 Ames, Iowa 8
11 Washington 219 West Pac-12 Seattle, Wash. 16
12 North Carolina 203 Southeast ACC Chapel Hill, N.C. 14
13 Michigan 198 Great Lakes Big Ten Ann Arbor, Mich. 22
14 Texas 190 South Central Big 12 Austin, Texas 20
15 Syracuse 172 Northeast Big East Syracuse, N.Y. 10
16 Oregon 156 West Pac-12 Eugene, Ore. 12
17 Virginia 144 Southeast ACC Charlottesville, Va. 21
18 Penn State 134 Mid-Atlantic Big Ten State College, Pa. 26
18 Boston College 134 Northeast ACC Chestnut Hill, Mass. 19
20 Texas Tech 129 Mountain Big 12 Lubbock, Texas 3
21 NC State 108 Southeast ACC Raleigh, N.C. 24
22 Princeton 106 Mid-Atlantic Ivy Princeton, N.J. 15
22 Florida 106 South SEC Gainesville, Fla. 29
24 West Virginia 105 Mid-Atlantic Big East Morgantown, W. Va. DNQ
25 BYU 98 Mountain West Coast Provo, Utah DNQ
26 Oklahoma State 88 Midwest Big 12 Stillwater, Okla. 17
27 Toledo 75 Great Lakes Mid-American Toledo, Ohio 28
28 Iowa 69 Midwest Big Ten Iowa City, Iowa DNQ
29 Michigan State 60 Great Lakes Big Ten East Lansing, Mich. 23
30 Minnesota 52 Midwest Big Ten Minneapolis, Minn. 27
Others Receiving Votes: Columbia 43, Arkansas 15, Kansas State 13, Indiana 9, UCalifornia 7, Tulsa 6, San Francisco 6, Vanderbilt 2, James Madison 1, Stony Brook 1, La Salle 1
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