Sept. 10, 2007
The Auburn men's cross country team is ranked sixth and the women seventh in the initial Division I Cross Country regional polls which were announced Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
It is another positive step for a pair of young squads that both finished 12th at last year's NCAA South Regional meet but started their seasons in impressive fashion last Friday. The men's squad finished first out of nine teams and the women tied for second at the UTC Invitational in Chattanooga, Tenn., and both teams had the top individual finisher at the event.
Despite having a roster with just one senior and one junior, the men's squad is ranked sixth in the region, trailing only Alabama, Florida State, Florida, Belmont and Tennessee. The women are even younger, with one senior and no juniors, but still earned the No. 7 ranking in the region. Florida State is No. 1, followed by Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech.
The squads will return to action when both teams compete at the Bulldog Invitational hosted by the University of Georgia on Sept. 22. The women's 5k race will start at 8 a.m. ET, with the men's 8k race scheduled to follow at 8:30 a.m.