In the middle of a three-week break from competition, both the men’s and women’s cross country squads failed to improve their standings in the latest polls from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.@@I CC’d this -mw@@
The men fell two spots, from No. 6 to No. 8, while the women remained No. 17 in the nation. @@http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/cross-country-men/d1@@
The top nine teams in the women’s poll remained identical. The women of Cal made the biggest leap of any team after tying for first place at last weekend’s Griak Invitational in St. Paul, Minn. The Golden Bears went from unranked to No. 10 in Tuesday’s release. The ranking is Cal’s highest ever, topping its previous best of No. 22 last year.@@http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/cross-country-women/d1@@
The Pac-12 has six teams in the women’s top 30 for the conference lead, followed by the Big East (five) and Big Ten (five).
Georgetown topped the latest women’s poll, followed by New Mexico, Providence, Colorado and Villanova. Pac-12 favorite Stanford came in at No. 6. @@same@@
In the men’s poll, the top five teams remained the same from last week’s rankings. Oklahoma State still stands at No. 1, followed by Wisconsin, Stanford, Oklahoma and Iona. @@same@@
The Big East, with six teams in the men’s poll, leads all conferences, followed by the Big Ten (five) and Pac-12 (four).
The Oregon men will get a shot at No. 2 Wisconsin when the two teams go head to head at this weekend’s Bill Dellinger Invitational in Springfield. A number of regionally ranked squads will be participating in the Dellinger. For the men, Southern Utah — checking in at No. 8 in the Mountain Region — will be present.  @@same@@
In the women’s competition, Wisconsin is ranked No. 6 in the Great Lakes Region, Wichita State is No. 13 in the Midwest and Southern Utah is No. 10 in the Mountain. Portland is No. 11 and Oregon State No. 15 in the West Region. The sixth-annual Bill Dellinger Invitational has the women’s race at 10:30 a.m. and the men’s race at 11:15 a.m. @@http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-xc/spec-rel/101706aaa.html@@
This weekend will be a busy one overall nationally for men’s cross country, as 27 ranked teams are scheduled to be in action. The Notre Dame Invitational is set to feature eight ranked teams as No. 3 Stanford, No. 10 Florida State and No. 12 Princeton look to make a statement. Lehigh University’s Brooks Paul Short Run @@http://www.lehighsports.com/sports/xcountry/PaulShort.aspx@@will have eight ranked teams in competition, including No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Iona. @@http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/cross-country-men/d1@@
Thompson granted additional year of eligibility
The NCAA announced it has granted Travis Thompson a sixth year of eligibility in outdoor track due to medical hardship. Thompson, a Newport, Ore., native, was absent from competition for the entire 2011 season. Thompson had been a key contributor for the Ducks, finishing fifth in the 800 meters at the Pac-10 Championships in 2010. Thompson was also an integral member of Oregon’s 4×400-meter relay squads that were third in 2009 and fourth in 2010 at the conference meet. He previously missed the 2008 season due to injury while competing for Lane Community College.