Men’s Cross Country: Buckeyes Jump Up in Rankings – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio State men’s cross country team jumped up in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional poll this week.
Following a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals Oct. 6 the Buckeyes moved from sixth to fourth in the Great Lakes Regional poll. Ohio State open the season ranked seventh in the region but has been ranked sixth for the past three weeks. The Buckeyes are behind No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 10 Michigan and No. 13 Notre Dame in the region.
“I am encouraged that we’re now ranked fourth in the Great Lakes Regional poll,” head coach Robert Gary said. “It is usually among the top regions on the men’s side and it’s exciting to see our training really begin to round into form and steadily rising in the rankings.”
The Buckeyes defeated two then-nationally ranked teams at the Pre-NationalsNo. 22 Villanova and No. 27 Washington. The Scarlet and Gray also put pressure on Big Ten rival Wisconsin, finishing just 16-points behind the Badgers who have won the Big Ten title the last seven seasons in a row.
“The pre-national meet was just what our team needed. We had a number of guys in our Top 7 improve by even a minute from the previous year,” Gary said. “We saw a number of Big Ten teams and I know our goal of a Top 3 finish on our home course is even more set in our team’s minds after this past weekend.”
The Buckeyes will take this week off and then return to action Oct. 28 as they will play host to the 2007 Big Ten Championships on the Ohio State University Golf Course.
