Bearcat Women's Team is #2 and Men's Team is #5 in West Region 

SALEM, ORE. -- The women's cross country team at Willamette University is ranked #27 in this week's NCAA Division III Poll released by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). In the West Region, the Bearcat women's team is ranked #2, while the Willamette men's team is listed at #5.

John's Hopkins University (Md.) was the #1 women's team in this week's National Poll. The Blue Jays received all eight first place votes and 280 points.

Wartburg College (Iowa) followed at #2 with 269 points in the poll. Middlebury College (Vt.) was #3 at 266 points, Massachusetts Institute of Technology held the #4 spot at 255 points, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) was #5 at 242 points.

In the West Region women's rankings, the top five remained unchanged from law week's poll. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps owned the #1 spot, with Willamette at the #2 position. Whitworth University held the #3 ranking, while Lewis & Clark College was #4 and California Lutheran University (Calif.) took #5.

Willamette, Whitworth and Lewis & Clark were three of the five NWC women's teams included in the West Region Rankings. Also ranked was Linfield College at #7 and Whitman College at #9.

At the top of the men's National Poll was North Central College (Ill.) with all eight first place votes and 280 points.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was #2 with 269 points, while Haverford College (Pa.) dropped to #3 with 267 points. Washington University (Mo.) was listed at #4 with 254 points, just in front of Massachusetts Institute of Technology at #5 with 249 points.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps held the #1 spot in the men's West Region Rankings, as the Stags moved past Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.), which fell from #1 to #2. Occidental College (Calif.) held #3 and La Verne (Calif.) remained at #4. Willamette followed at #5.

Willamette was the only NWC men's team ranked in the Regional top five, but three other NWC squads were listed in the top 10. The University of Puget Sound was #6, Lewis & Clark was #8, and Whitworth held the #10 position.

The Bearcats will host the 39th Annual Charles Bowles Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 5 at Bush's Pasture Park in Salem, Ore. Each year, the Charles Bowles Invitational is one of the largest collegiate cross country meets on the West Coast. The first race is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. (PDT).