The University of Sioux Falls men's cross country team received their first-ever national ranking Wednesday when the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the final regular-season rankings for NCAA DII cross country. The Cougars debuted at No. 32.
"Being nationally ranked to end the season is a huge achievement for our men's cross country team. Our goal all year was to run our best races at the end of the season," said first-year USF head coach Grant Watley.
Most recently, the Cougars had a strong showing at the NCAA Central Region Meet where they placed sixth overall, and were just 36 points shy of qualifying for the National meet. Billy Brockmueller was able to clinch an individual invite with a ninth place finish.
"The team really bought into this philosophy and it was great to see them race so well at our championship meets," added Watley.
USF began their post-season slate with a third place finish at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships. Three of their five runners placed in the top-20 of the men's 10k to garner All-Conference honors.
"Our third and sixth place finishes at very tough conference and regional meets proved that we are a national caliber team in the NCAA Division II and on our way to becoming a premier distance program in the NSIC and NCAA," said Watley.
Brockmueller will represent USF at the NCAA DII National Cross Country Championships November 17 in Joplin, Mo.
