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Big wins send Saints cross-country teams soaring in polls

Posted 9/18/14

CANTON -- Big performances in a spotlighted meet have propelled St. Lawrence University's cross country teams up the national rankings after both the men and women came away with team titles at the …

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Big wins send Saints cross-country teams soaring in polls

Posted

CANTON -- Big performances in a spotlighted meet have propelled St. Lawrence University's cross country teams up the national rankings after both the men and women came away with team titles at the Saratoga Invitational on Saturday.

The Saints, who have a week off before hosting the Ronald C. Hoffmann Invitational on Sept. 27, jumped 21 spots in the men's coaches poll conducted by the USTFCCCA to fourth in the nation and 17 in the women's poll where they are now third.

The Saints were ranked third in the Atlantic Region and 25th nationally in the USTFCCCA men's pre-season poll and fourth in the region and 20th nationally in the women's pre-season poll.

The Saratoga Invitational, featured as the top Division III competition in the country by the USTFCCCA, changed all that. The men's field included third-ranked Williams along with RPI among nationally ranked teams while the women's field featured national top-ten teams Williams (2nd) and NYU (9th) in addition to Ithaca among ranked teams.

SLU had 39 points in the men's race with Williams second with 53, NYU third with 83, Ithaca fourth with 124 and RPI fifth with 158. The win gave the Saints 246 points in the Sept. 17 national poll, making the Saints the top eastern team with St. Olaf, North Central and UW-Eau Claire occupying the top three slots. Central is fifth, followed by Williams, MIT, UW-Platteville, John's Hopkins and UW-LaCrosse.

The Saint women won their race by a slim 41-43 mark over Williams with NYU third, Vassar fourth and Ithaca fifth. All five of the teams were ranked in the pre-season polls. While Williams held second in the national polls following the race, the Saints jumped up to third with 260 points and join Johns Hopkins, Williams, Chicago, MIT, Oberlin, SUNY Geneseo, Middlebury, NYU and Dickinson in the top ten.