Colorado State University Athletics
CSU men’s cross country starts 2018 season with No. 9 preseason ranking from USTFCCCA
8/27/2018 3:12:00 PM | Cross Country
Rams’ No. 9 ranking marks the program’s highest-ever preseason men’s cross country ranking from the USTFCCCA
NEW ORLEANS – The Colorado State men's cross country team enters the 2018 season with its highest preseason ranking in program history, as the Rams were tabbed the No. 9 team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) DI National Coaches' Poll. The organization released its preseason rankings on Tuesday.
Before Tuesday, Colorado State men's cross country had previously been ranked as high as at No. 16 in any preseason ranking (2002). Colorado State has now been ranked in the preseason in five consecutive years, dating back to a No. 30 preseason ranking in 2014. The Rams were ranked preseason No. 18 prior to last year's historic run.
CSU men's cross country's No. 9 preseason ranking matches its finish of No. 9 at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Rams return three scorers from that team, including 2017 cross country All-American Cole Rockhold and All-Mountain West performer Eric Hamer. Carson Hume rounds out the Rams' 2017 NCAA scorers, while Trent Powell also returns after being competing as one of the Rams' top seven at NCAAs.
CSU's men will once again represent a loaded Mountain Region, and check in at a program-best preseason regional ranking of No. 4. National No. 1 Northern Arizona leads the region, followed by the nation's No. 2 team, BYU, then No. 7 Colorado. The Mountain Region's four top-10 teams are the most of any region in the nation (West – three).
On the women's side, Colorado State has the third-highest points total of any team receiving votes outside of the national top 30. CSU is receiving 11 points, sitting just six points behind the No. 30 San Francisco women and within 10 points of No. 29 Ohio State (19 points) and No. 28 Dartmouth (20 points).
In regional rankings, the Colorado State women check in at No. 5, marking the Rams' highest Mountain Region ranking on the women's side since being tabbed the region's No. 4 squad on Oct. 29, 2012.
In addition to their national recognition, the Rams were also recently projected to win the men's Mountain West title by league coaches. Rockhold (second at the Mountain West Cross Country Championships in 2017) and Hamer (fifth at the 2017 conference meet) represent the conference's top two returners in terms of 2017 finish, and combine with Hume and Powell to give the Rams the most returners from the 2017 conference meet's top-18 finishers (Boise State – three).
The Colorado State cross country team will begin its 2018 season on Friday at the Wyoming Invite. Competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. MT from the Little America Hotel & Resort in Cheyenne, Wyo.
Before Tuesday, Colorado State men's cross country had previously been ranked as high as at No. 16 in any preseason ranking (2002). Colorado State has now been ranked in the preseason in five consecutive years, dating back to a No. 30 preseason ranking in 2014. The Rams were ranked preseason No. 18 prior to last year's historic run.
CSU men's cross country's No. 9 preseason ranking matches its finish of No. 9 at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Rams return three scorers from that team, including 2017 cross country All-American Cole Rockhold and All-Mountain West performer Eric Hamer. Carson Hume rounds out the Rams' 2017 NCAA scorers, while Trent Powell also returns after being competing as one of the Rams' top seven at NCAAs.
CSU's men will once again represent a loaded Mountain Region, and check in at a program-best preseason regional ranking of No. 4. National No. 1 Northern Arizona leads the region, followed by the nation's No. 2 team, BYU, then No. 7 Colorado. The Mountain Region's four top-10 teams are the most of any region in the nation (West – three).
On the women's side, Colorado State has the third-highest points total of any team receiving votes outside of the national top 30. CSU is receiving 11 points, sitting just six points behind the No. 30 San Francisco women and within 10 points of No. 29 Ohio State (19 points) and No. 28 Dartmouth (20 points).
In regional rankings, the Colorado State women check in at No. 5, marking the Rams' highest Mountain Region ranking on the women's side since being tabbed the region's No. 4 squad on Oct. 29, 2012.
In addition to their national recognition, the Rams were also recently projected to win the men's Mountain West title by league coaches. Rockhold (second at the Mountain West Cross Country Championships in 2017) and Hamer (fifth at the 2017 conference meet) represent the conference's top two returners in terms of 2017 finish, and combine with Hume and Powell to give the Rams the most returners from the 2017 conference meet's top-18 finishers (Boise State – three).
The Colorado State cross country team will begin its 2018 season on Friday at the Wyoming Invite. Competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. MT from the Little America Hotel & Resort in Cheyenne, Wyo.
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