Cross Country Teams Maintain Position in South Region Rankings
9/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Sept. 28, 2011
NEW ORLEANS -
The University of Alabama men's and women's cross country teams maintained their previous rank in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional rankings as the women's cross country team remained in the No. 7 slot in the South Region while the men's squad held fast at No. 4.
After moving up two spots to No. 7 in the rankings following the victory at the Commodore Classic on Sept. 17, the women's team remained in seventh during an off week. The Tide is one of five Southeastern Conference Schools to be included in the top 10 for third consecutive week. The other SEC schools include Florida (No. 2), Vanderbilt (No. 3), Mississippi State (No. 4) and Georgia (No. 5).
In its last outing, the Tide had five individual top-20 finishes at Nashville's Percy Ward Track. Katlyn Will led the Crimson Tide again with a season-best time of 18:09.10 to finish fourth overall. Andrea Torske followed in eighth at 18:20.30 while Leigh Gilmore came in 10th with an 18:21.50 finish. Both shaved approximately 10 seconds off their season opening times.
The top five in the men's regional poll went unchanged from the third straight week. Florida State holds the top spot, followed by Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Chattanooga rounds out the top five.
In its last competition, the men's squad finished just 10 points behind Cincinnati to take second-place at the Commodore Classic. Carison Kemei led the Tide again with a second-place finish in 24:35.90 to best his season-opening time by two seconds. In his second race of the season, Joel Rop showed considerable improvement to finish ninth with a time of 25:32.30.
The USTFCCCA also released its updated national poll this week with the UA men's team once again receiving three votes and ranking just outside the top 30.
The Tide returns to action this weekend at the Louisville Greater Classic in Louisville, Ky., on Oct. 1.
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