Men's Cross Country | 8/27/2014 2:32:00 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Aug. 27, 2014 - The North Central College men's cross country team will start the 2014 season the same way it finished in 2013, as the Cardinals are ranked second in the NCAA Division III Top 35 Preseason Coaches' Poll released Wednesday by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
 

The Cardinals were edged out at last year's national championship meet by St. Olaf College (Minnesota), 84-86. The Oles are also two points ahead in this year's first coaches' poll with 277 points and five first-place votes, while North Central totaled 275 points and the remaining three first-place votes. North Central has been ranked first or second in 48 of the last 50 national polls and has finished first or second at each of the past six national championships.

Williams College (Massachusetts) sits third with 259 points, followed by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with 250 and Central College (Iowa) with 249. The top 10 is rounded out by Massachusetts Institute of Technology with 234, Johns Hopkins University (Maryland) with 224, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with 220, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with 216 and Washington University in St. Louis with 208.

North Central is one of two College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) representatives in the top 35, as Wheaton College sits 29th.

The Cardinals open their season on Friday at the Elmhurst College Earlybird Invitational.