USTFCCCA REGIONAL RANKINGS - MEN | WOMEN

NEW ORLEANS – How quickly program firsts turn into expectations. A year ago, the Portland State men's and women's cross country programs were both ranked in the USTFCCCA West Region preseason rankings for the first time in program history. This season – helped by the fact that the men and women placed eighth and 11th, respectively, at last year's NCAA West Regional – the mutual preseason rankings, released Tuesday, don't come as a surprise.
 
Even if the Vikings expected it, the rankings – 9th (men), 13th (women) – are a marker of how far the program has come. The Viking men were only first ranked in the USTFCCCA West Region rankings in 2020, while the women had never been better than 15th until the same year.
 
The Viking men's ninth-place ranking matches their highest in-season ranking in program history. The men's team was also ranked ninth in the Week 5 rankings last season, which came out the Monday after the Vikings won the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational by 37 points over two other regionally ranked schools in Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.
 
The men could return all but one runner who competed for them at last season's NCAA West Regional. Keynan Abdi and Jordan MacIntosh both return after leading the Vikings at last season's meet with 40th- and 43rd-place finishes, respectively.
 
The Viking women return a lot of their top runners from a year ago, as well. They lost NCAA nationals qualifier and USTFCCCA All-Region runner Katie Camarena, but return five of their top seven from both the Big Sky Championships and NCAA West Regional meets. The Viking women set a program record with a third-place finish at last season's Big Sky meet, then tied a program record by placing 11th at the NCAA West Regional.
 
The Vikings open their season at the Viking Rust Buster, which they'll host this Friday at Westmoreland Park in Southeast Portland. The men race a 6k at 2 p.m. while the women run a 5k at 2:30 p.m.