Syracuse men’s and women’s cross country rise in NCAA XC Coaches Poll

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Syracuse’s men’s and women’s teams climbed up the ranks on the NCAA Cross Country Coaches’ Poll released on Monday. A week after being on the outside the top 10, the men are No. 6. The women took the No. 21 spot after being unranked in the previous poll.

The men are coming off a strong fourth place finish at the Virginia Invitational. Syracuse racked up 268 points in the poll, compared to 201 a week ago. SU also maintained its No. 1 ranking in the Northeast Region, beating out No. 2 ranked Harvard. The Orange now have their highest rank since 2017. Head Coach Brien Bell’s squad was initially ranked 11th in the preseason. Northern Arizona was once again the No. 1 ranked team with 327 points.

With 103 points, SU’s women’s team came just seven points shy of No. 20 Arkansas. SU also placed second in the Northeast Region in the latest rankings, trailing only Providence. The Orange were initially ranked 30th in the preseason. NC State narrowly held onto the No. 1 spot with 327 points.

Both the men and women will travel to Massachusetts for the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown on Friday, Sept. 29th.