Sept. 12, 2006

MILWAUKEE -- The Marquette women's cross country team is ranked 18th according to the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason national poll, it was announced today. I

Defending national champion Stanford tops the poll, followed by Colorado and Michigan.

The Golden Eagles are the highest ranked BIG EAST conference school on the poll, ahead of Providence (#20) and Georgetown (#24). Notre Dame and Villanova both received votes. Last season, MU finished third at its first appearance at the BIG EAST cross country championship.

"We're honored to be ranked this high, this early in the season." head coach Dave Uhrich said. "But I also realize that it's early in the season and hard to know quite how your team is going to be. We're excited to get going and will hopefully be able to maintain such a ranking after a few meets."

It is the second-highest preseason ranking for the MU women's harriers. The Golden Eagles were ranked 15th on the 2001 preseason poll.

Most of the ranked teams will square off Oct. 14 at the Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute,Ind. The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will be held Nov. 20, also Wabash Family Sports Center in Terre Haute.

Marquette's men's and women's cross country squads will return to action on Friday, Sept. 15 when they compete at the 27th Annual National Catholic Championship, held on the campus of Notre Dame. The women's five-kilometer race begins at 3:15 p.m., followed by the men's five-mile race at 4 p.m.

USTFCCCA Division I women's cross country poll (Sept. 12, 2006)

1. Stanford 2. Colorado 3. Michigan 4. Oklahoma State 5. BYU 6. Illinois 7. Duke 8. Arkansas 9. Arizona State 10. Wisconsin 11. Princeton 12. North Carolina State 13. Baylor 14. Tennessee 15. Iowa 16. Minnesota 17. Boston University 18. Marquette 19. Florida State 20. Providence 21. Washington 22. North Carolina 23. Michigan State 24. Georgetown 25. William & Mary 26. Virginia 27. Colorado State 28. Wake Forest 29. Indiana 30. Oregon

Other schools receiving votes: Boston College, Butler, Notre Dame, Georgia, LaSalle, Northern Arizona, Villanova, Rice, Columbia, Weber State, UCLA, Texas Tech, Washington State, Alabama-Birmingham, UC Santa Barbara.