Oct. 30, 2007

NEW ORLEANS - Bolstered by the return of Galen Rupp, Oregon won its second straight Pacific-10 Conference title on Saturday and swept the first-place votes in this week's Division I men's cross country poll.

Rupp finished second to teammate Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott as Oregon scored 55 points to win the Pac-10 title in Corvallis, Ore., defeating Stanford (55) and Cal (70). The Ducks received all 13 votes in the poll released today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Following Oregon in the top 10 are Northern Arizona, UTEP, Wisconsin and Iona (tied for fourth), Colorado, Arkansas, Stanford, Virginia and California.

The second 10 consists of North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, Louisville, Georgetown, Minnesota, Texas, Alabama, Providence and Tulsa (tied for 18th) and Portland.

Oregon was one of eight teams in the top 10 to win conference titles last weekend. Kiptoo-Biwott won the Pac-10 individual crown, covering 8,000 meters in 22 minutes, 54.9 seconds. Rupp, the U.S. collegiate record holder in the 10,000 who was running his first cross country race of the season, was second in 22:58.4.

Second-ranked Northern Arizona scored 22 points to win the Big Sky Conference men's championship in Missoula, Mont. Northern Arizona's Lopez Lomong won the individual title by 13 seconds.

Third-ranked UTEP won the Conference USA title with a perfect 15 points as Stephen Samoei claimed individual honors.

Iona and Wisconsin tied for fourth in this week's poll. Iona collected its 17th straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship with 17 points as Mohamed Khadraoui led the way with a first-place finish.

Wisconsin won the Big 10 championship for a conference-record ninth time in a row. The Badgers placed five runners in the top 10, led by individual winner Matt Withrow.

Sixth-ranked Colorado scored 34 points to defeat No. 12 Oklahoma State (48) and No. 16 Texas (58) at the Big 12 Conference Championships in Lubbock, Texas. Brent Vaughn and Kenyon Neuman finished 1-2 for the Buffaloes.

Seventh-ranked Arkansas won its 19th consecutive Southeastern Conference men's championship Saturday in Lexington, Ky., scoring 36 points. Emmanuel Bor of 17th-ranked Alabama won the SEC individual title.

No. 9 Virginia won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in Charlottesville with 32 points as Chris Kollar paced the winning effort with a first-place finish.

Division I teams will compete in nine regional championship meets the weekend of Nov. 10 before the top teams and individuals race in the NCAA Cross Country Championships Nov. 20 in Terre Haute, Ind. Colorado is the defending NCAA men's team champion.

The voting panel for the USTFCCCA Division I men's poll consists of nine elected regional representatives and four at-large members of the USTFCCCA. The rankings are compiled by Don Kopriva.

Stanford is ranked first in this week's Division I women's poll.

NCAA Division I men's cross country rankings
Oct. 30, 2007
(first-place votes, total points)

Team		Points		Previous
1. Oregon (13)		390		1
2. Northern Arizona		367		2
3. UTEP		362		3
4. Wisconsin		345		6
4. Iona		345		4
6. Colorado		336		5
7. Arkansas		301		8-tie
8. Stanford		295		15
9. Virginia		284		11
10. California		259		8-tie
11. North Carolina State		255		7
12. Oklahoma State		245		18
13. Louisville		226		19-tie
14. Georgetown		200		16
15. Minnesota		188		22
16. Texas		176		14
17. Alabama		164		12
18. Providence		147		23
18. Tulsa		147		17
20. Portland		145		21
21. UCLA		136		19-tie
22. Notre Dame		132		13
23. Michigan		110		10
24. Florida		108		30
25. William & Mary		67		28
26. BYU		61		26
27. Arizona State		56		25
28. Cal Poly		47		27
29. Princeton		29		NR
30. Ohio State		27		NR

Also receiving votes: Iowa State 25, Weber State 23, Florida State 10, Syracuse 10, Villanova 6, Indiana 2, Texas A&M 1.