By
Francisco Merced
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wildcat women place 31st
With a team returning four of the top five runners from the squad that won the 1999 Pacific 10 Conference championship, the Arizona men's cross country team received a No. 5 ranking in the United States Cross Country Coaches Association preseason poll.
Arizona head coach Dave Murray was quick to caution the preseason mark.
"Rankings, like every coach says at the beginning of the season, don't mean anything," Murray said.
With such a high ranking, the defending champs have the burden of performing at the same level as last season.
Lone senior and No. 1 runner David Lopez welcomes the challenge and the high distinction of being a preseason No. 5 team for the upcoming season.
"It makes us feel pretty good," Lopez said. "It's where we should be."
The Wildcats, however, were not the lone Pac-10 representative in the poll as Stanford received the highest mark at No. 2 while Oregon and Arizona State came in at No. 9 and No. 11, respectively.
No other conference had four universities in the top 11 rankings, with only the Big Ten Conference having more than one team - Wisconsin and Michigan.
"The Pac-10 is the best conference in the country," Murray said.
With the stiff competition, the Wildcats are predicted to finish behind powerhouse Stanford. This concept is nothing new for UA, who had to face a similar situation last year.
"(Stanford's ranking) doesn't bother me, they're always ranked high," Lopez said. "Last year we beat them, and they were No. 1 (in the country)."
Another season of meets in the country's toughest conference should allow the Wildcat men to better prepare for postseason championships, Murray said.
On the men's side, defending NCAA cross country champions Arkansas' enters the season with a preseason rank of No. 1.
The Razorbacks received 390 votes with eight of the 16 first place votes. Stanford placed only two votes shy of that, garnering the other half of first place votes. Colorado came in third with 367 total votes.
The Wildcats finished one vote short of fourth place with 301 votes.
Murray appears unimpressed with any rankings, good or bad.
"Rankings are rankings," he said.
The Arizona women's cross country team, however, didn't receive the same regard as their male counterparts. The Wildcat women were ranked 31st in the preseason.
"The women are way, way under-ranked," Murray said. "People don't know the quality of newcomers we have."
Both Wildcat teams start the 2000 season this Saturday when they compete in the Purdue Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind.
