New Mexico is the No. 1 women’s cross country team in the nation, according to the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll.
UNM overtook Iowa State for the top spot in the poll, which was released Tuesday. The Lobo women accumulated 354 points, including eight first-place points, for the top ranking.
It is the team’s highest ranking ever, according to a UNM Athletics Department release. The Lobos became the second team in school history to be ranked No. 1, the men’s soccer team being the first.
Also, no other current Mountain West team has held the USTFCCCA’s top ranking, however former member BYU has.
"It's a great honor that the coaches of the coaches association think that we're No. 1," UNM coach Joe Franklin, whose team has been in the women’s poll for 25 straight weeks, said in the statement. "It's a really long way away to the national championships. There's eight to 10 teams that have a shot to win it, and it's nice to considered one of those."
The Cyclones had three first-place votes and sits in No. 2, followed by Colorado and Michigan State (one first-place vote. Georgetown rounds out the top five in the women’s poll.
Meanwhile, the Lobos are ranked 20th in the men’s poll. Colorado holds the top spot in that poll, followed by Stanford, Syracuse, Wisconsin and Oklahoma State in the top five.
J.R. Oppenheim is the managing editor for the Daily Lobo. Contact him at managingeditor@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @JROppenheim.
