Cross Country Teams Ranked in Preseason Regional Rankings
8/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Aug. 30, 2011
NEW ORLEANS -
In the first regional cross country rankings of the season, the University of Alabama men's team was projected to finish fourth in the South Region while the women's squad came in eighth.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) preseason regional rankings are calculated on a team's strengths entering the year based on returning and new runners for each squad as chosen by a representative in each region.
Alabama's men's team is no stranger to the top of the polls, winning the South Region Championship four straight years dating back to 2007 and eight times in the last 12 seasons. The Tide finished second in the SEC Championships and placed 11th at the NCAA Championships in 2010.
In the USTFCCCA National Rankings, the men's team received 20 votes to rank just outside the top 30.
The Crimson Tide men's team returns seven seniors this season including veterans such as Carison Kemei, Joel Rop and Moses Kiptoo. Kemei and Rop both earned All-SEC honors in 2010. The group will be led by first-year head coach Dan Waters who benefits from a roster that returns four runners who participated in last season's NCAA Championships.
Alabama's women's team is equally experienced with eight upperclassmen on the 2011 roster. The Tide's top six runners from last year's SEC Championships all return after recording a sixth place finish in 2010. Senior Kelsey Johnson returns after a junior season plagued by injury. In her absence, Andrea Torske led the squad last season and was Alabama's top runner in the majority of races. Torske finished 32nd at the NCAA South Region Championships as the team finished seventh.
Florida State earned the top spot in the South Region for both the men and women. Nationally, defending NCAA men's champion Oklahoma State was projected to repeat while Georgetown earned the top rank on the women's side.
Both the men's and women's teams begin their season on Sept. 3 at the Georgia Invitational in Athens, Ga., followed by a Sept. 17 date in Nashville, Tenn., for the Commodore Classic.
