North Carolina State University Athletics
Men's Cross Country Leaps In Polls Following ACC Title
11/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
RALEIGH, N.C. — Following an impressive victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships last weekend, the NC State men’s cross country team jumped to No. 16 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll.
The Wolfpack, ranked No. 30 in the previous poll, won the conference championship for the 11th time in the last 15 years under head coach Rollie Geiger, but this year’s championship may be Geiger’s most impressive because of the overall strength of the conference.
In many previous years, NC State would be one of no more than two ranked teams in the conference, and would be a prohibitive favorite. The Wolfpack’s margins of victory often reflected the team’s dominance. The rest of the conference has made great strides in cross country in recent years, and there were four ranked teams and no heavy favorites in this year’s ACC Championships.
The balance was obvious in many ways, including the individual results and all-conference team. A year ago, NC State had four all-conference runners (top 14 in the individual standings) and finished second to Virginia. Two years ago, the Pack had six All-ACC runners and finished second to the Cavaliers. This season, NC State had just three all-conference runners — John Martinez, Ryan Hill and Patrick Campbell — and won the team championship by a fairly comfortable margin over the Cavaliers, 56-71. The league’s balance was apparent by the fact that a record six different teams had multiple all-conference runners, and none had more than three.
The last time NC State’s men won the ACC championship with a few as three all-conference runners was 1992. NC State had at least five all-conference runners seven times in the nine-year span from 1995-2003, and had at least four All-ACC performers 12 times in the 14 years from 1995-2008. The Wolfpack had an ACC-record seven all-conference runners in 1999, and had six in 1995, 1997, 2006 and 2007.
The league's balance was further evident by the fact that NC State's 56 points was the most by a winning team in 32 years, tying a record set by Duke in 1977.
In the Southeast Region rankings, the Wolfpack moved up to No. 2 behind William & Mary, which is ranked eighth in the national poll. Virginia, ranked No. 19 nationally, is third in the regional poll, followed by 24th-ranked Louisville. The other two ranked ACC teams were Florida State at No. 21 and Duke at No. 30.
The NC State women, who finished fourth in the conference meet, were unranked in the latest national poll, but were third in the Southeast Regional behind 15th-ranked Duke and 19th-ranked Virginia. North Carolina was fourth in the regional standings. ACC champion Florida State was ranked No. 9 in the national poll and second behind Florida in the South Regional poll.
The next race for the Wolfpack cross country teams will be the NCAA Southeast Regionals, November 14 in Louisville, Ky. The top two teams from each regional automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. At-large bids are given out based on regular-season criteria.
