The IU cross-country teams are starting to feel the ramifications of their sluggish performances last week at the Nuttycombe Invitational at Wisconsin.
When the Hoosiers entered one of the most highly-touted races in the country last Friday, the women’s team was ranked 14th nationally, while the men’s team stood at 21st.
This week, after 17th and 29th place finishes respectively in Madison, Wisconsin, the women’s team fell 15 spots to 29th and the men’s team fell out of the top 30 completely in the most recent U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association poll released Tuesday.
With the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington nearing next week, the new rankings put IU behind multiple conference rivals. The women’s team currently sits as the sixth-highest ranked Big Ten team behind Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan State, while the men’s team is seventh behind Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State, Illinois and Purdue.
With the Big Ten Championships being hosted at their home course this year at 10:45 a.m. Oct. 29, the Hoosiers will look it reclaim their original spot as one of the top teams in the conference.
Murphy Wheeler
