Men's Cross Country Moves To No. 13

Oct. 18, 2005

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

After a strong showing at NCAA Pre-Nationals over the weekend, the University of Kansas men’s cross country team moved up 15 spots to No. 13 in the Mondo Men’s Cross Country Rankings, released today. The Jayhawks were previously ranked 28th.

In a strong field, the Jayhawks finished fourth overall at Pre-Nationals. In the process, they beat six teams that were ranked above them at the time, including No. 11 Cal Poly, No. 17 Florida State, No. 18 Ohio State, No. 21 Indiana, No. 22 Dartmouth and No. 23 North Carolina State. The team was led by defending Big 12 champion, junior Benson Chesang. He placed 14th overall in a time of 24:05.2. The Jayhawks’ fourth-place finish was an improvement on their 22nd-place result on the same course last year.

The team also moved up from third place to second in the Midwest regional rankings.

The men’s and women’s cross country team will return to action on Friday, Oct. 28, for the Big 12 Championships in Waco, Texas.

MONDO MEN’S NCAA-I CROSS COUNTRY POLL (Oct. 18, 2005)
Conducted by the United States Cross Country Coaches Association

Ranking Team(first place votes)
1 Arkansas (12)
2 Wisconsin (4)
3 Colorado
4 Stanford
5 Notre Dame
6 BYU
7 Arizona
8 Florida
9 Georgetown
10 UTEP
11 Iowa
12 Texas
13 Kansas
14 Dartmouth
15 Portland
16 William & Mary
17 Michigan
18 Virginia
19 Florida State
20 Alabama
21 Iona College
22 Indiana
23 Minnesota
24 Washington
25 Oklahoma State
26 Ohio State
27 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
28 Air Force
29 American
30 Eastern Michigan