Sept. 21, 2005
The Columbia women's cross country team has been ranked 10th in the nation, according to the first in-season NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Poll, conducted by FinishLynx.
The Lions, who were ranked 11th in the national pre-season poll, lead all Ivy League schools and are ranked second among all Eastern institutions, trailing only ninth-ranked Villanova by just 13 points.
"The poll is only a rough estimate of our team's ability," head coach Willy Wood said. "Our goals are to win the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships and excel in the NCAA Regionals and Finals. Those will give a true picture of our team.
"However, we are grateful for the national recognition of our program that this poll indicates. We're honored to be ranked so high."
Columbia, which won its third consecutive Ivy League championship last season and finished 13th in the NCAA Championships, opened its 2005 season on September 10 when it finished first in the Binghamton Invitational on the campus of Binghamton (N.Y.) University, scoring 25 points to 62 for second place Syracuse.
Sophomore Stephanie Lenihan (CC-Yakima, Wash.) led a tightly-packed Columbia contingent when she finished third in 18:56 for the 5000-meter course. Senior All-American Caroline Bierbaum (CC-New York, N.Y.) was right behind Lenihan in fourth place, also in 18:56. In fact, the six Columbia runners finished in third through eighth places.
Most of the varsity runners will not run in Columbia's next competition, the Quinnipiac Invitational September 23 in Hamden, Conn., but are expected to compete at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University on October 1. The race will include several other nationally-ranked teams.
The FinishLynx NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Poll
(poll No. 1 - dated September 21, 2005; first-place votes in parentheses)
1. Duke (7), 384
2. Colorado (6), 382
3. Notre Dame, 364
4. Michigan, 348
5. Stanford, 339
6. Brigham Young, 319
7. Arizona State, 309
8. North Carolina State, 290
9. Villanova, 279
10. COLUMBIA, 266
11. Providence, 255
12. Wake Forest, 242
13. Arkansas, 234
14. Princeton, 219
15. UC Santa Barbara, 207
16. Illinois, 193
17. Tennessee, 176
18. Michigan State, 163
19. Missouri, 153
20. Baylor, 137
21. Georgia, 122
22. Indiana, 107
23. Northern Arizona, 98
24. Georgetown, 89
25. Yale, 74
26. Colorado State, 65
27. North Carolina, 58
28. Florida State, 47
29. Washington, 33
30. Marquette, 26
Others Receiving Votes: Butler 13, Rice 12, Iowa 11, Utah State 10, Virginia 10, Tennessee-Chattanooga 5, Boston. U. 3, La Salle 2, Boston College 1.
