Indiana University Athletics
Hoosier Men Ranked No. 8 Nationally to Begin the Season
8/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Aug. 30, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its preseason national cross country coaches' poll on Tuesday and the Indiana men's cross country team found itself ranked No. 8 and the IU women's team received votes to begin the year.
Of the 30 teams ranked in the men's poll, the Hoosiers are scheduled to run against 22 of those teams. The Hoosiers hope to build upon last year's seventh place finish in the NCAA Championships, the program's best finish in 33 years. Indiana returns All-American Andrew Poore as well as All-Big Ten runners Andy Bayer and Zach Mayhew.
"Preseason rankings don't mean a whole lot," said director and head coach Ron Helmer. "It is the rankings at the end of the year that we are looking to do well in, but this shows that we are regarded highly nationally. Our schedule includes 22 of the teams ranked in the top 30, so we will have the chance to see how we stack up prior to the postseason."
The Hoosiers will begin the 2011 schedule with the Indiana Open on Saturday, Sept. 10 in Bloomington. For all things Indiana Cross Country, stay tuned to IUHoosiers.com.
