Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Cross Country Ranked Ninth in Preseason Polls
September 13, 2006 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
The Cowboys began the 2005 season unranked and climbed the polls all season heading into the national meet. Their eighth-place finish was their highest mark since they finished fourth in the 1996 national meet at Stanford. The Pokes garnered third-place honors in 1995 at Arkansas.
“We had a fabulous race in the national meet last year,” said Cowboy assistant coach Dave Smith. ”I think of all the teams out there, we probably performed closest to our maximum potential.
“I think ninth is a pretty fair ranking for us. I look at the teams ranked ahead of us and I think that most of them are pretty legitimate. There are a couple that I, being a little biased, think we are better than.” Smith also said, even though the Pokes are excited about starting the season as a top-ten team, they are looking to accomplish much more this season.
“Our goals are higher than that and if we finish ninth this year, our guys might be a little disappointed,” said Smith. “The beauty of our sport is that every team lines up on the line together and if you don't like your ranking, you can go change it by beating those teams ranked ahead of you.”
Last year's NCAA Champion Wisconsin is ranked first in the polls followed by Arkansas, Colorado, Stanford and Texas. Iona comes in ranked sixth, followed by Portland, Arizona, OSU and Kansas.
