KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, IND. ? Despite winning the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference cross country championship, the Indiana State men's cross country team dropped a notch in the Great Lakes Region poll released Monday by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Sycamores dropped from seventh to eighth in the poll despite edging Southern Illinois (ranked sixth in the Midwest Region) by a single point to claim Indiana State's sixth Missouri Valley Cross Country championship.
Indiana State men's cross country coach John McNichols, who was named the Missouri Valley Conference men's cross country coach of the year for the sixth time in his 27 years of coaching at Indiana State, knows that the Sycamores have a very good team this year and is already busy preparing for the Great Lakes Regional in two weeks at Indiana University.
“It was a tremendous team effort for us to win the conference championship,” McNichols said. “Indiana is very tough place to run but these guys are working hard.”
Wisconsin, who won their 11th straight Big Ten Championship last weekend, remained the top team in the Great Lakes Region. Butler, champions of the Horizon League, remained second with Ohio State making the biggest leap, moving up five spots to third after finishing second in the Big Ten Championships with their best effort of the year.
Indiana was a disappointing fourth at the Big Ten Championships and dropped a spot to fourth in the poll while Michigan also dropped notch down to fifth after a fifth place finish at the Big Ten. Notre Dame, who was sixth at the Big East Championships, dropped down to sixth with Dayton, who was third in the Atlantic-10 Championships, now seventh.
Following Indiana State is Kent State, winners of the Mid-America Conference, in ninth. Michigan State (10th at the Big Ten) is 10th, Eastern Michigan (second in the MAC) 11th, Central Michigan (third in the MAC) 12th, Miami of Ohio (fourth at the MAC) 13th, and Marquette University (seventh at the Big East) moved into the top 15 and is 14th. Oakland, who was third in the Summit League championships, remained 15th.
Wisconsin moved up five spots in the national rankings, which were released Tuesday by the USTFCCCA and is now ranked 10th in the nation. Butler is ranked 26th nationally and Ohio State 28th in the nation.
