Nov. 1, 2005

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Providence College men's cross country team climbed back into the latest NCAA Mondo national poll, which was released on November 1. The Friars (34 points) are ranked 30th. Wisconsin (476 points) regained its No. 1 position after being ranked second in the last poll. Arkansas (468 points), Colorado (442 points), Stanford (432 points) and Notre Dame (414 points) round out the top five.

The Friars are coming off a third-place at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships on Friday, October 28 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y. Senior Martin Fagan (Mullingar, Ireland) captured the individual title as he crossed the finish line in a time of 23:48. With his victory, Fagan broke a 27-year old course record. Sophomore Ahmed Haji (West Hartford, Conn.) was the second Friar runner to cross the finish line as he took sixth place with a time of 24:30. Fellow sophomore Max Smith (Dunedin, New Zealand) finished 14th in a time of 25:00. Fagan, Haji and Smith each earned All-BIG EAST honors by finishing among the top-15 at the event. Also scoring for Providence was junior Nick Weidman of Sudbury, Mass. (21st -25:17) and senior Joe Dionne of Oshawa, Ontario (26th - 25:31).

The Friars are back in action on Saturday, November 12 at the NCAA Northeast Regionals at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass.

MONDO NCAA DIVISION I MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY POLL
November  1, 2005
Rank    Team (First place votes)        Points
1.      Wisconsin (12)                  476
2.      Arkansas (4)                    468
3.      Colorado                        442
4.      Stanford                        432
5.      Notre Dame                      414
6.      Brigham Young                   402
7.      Georgetown                      354
8.      UTEP                            351
9.      Arizona                         342
10.     Texas                           338
11.     Alabama                         287
12.     Kansas                          286
13.     Portland                        273
14.     Florida                         252
15.     Ohio State                      246
16.     Dartmouth                       242
17.     William & Mary                  213
18.     Minnesota                       212
19.     Virginia                        211
20.     Iowa                            172
21.     Iona                            153
22.     Florida State                   152
23.     Michigan                        149
24.     Cal Poly San Luis Obispo        144
25.     Indiana                         96
26.     Oklahoma State                  82
27.     American                        59
28.     California                      45
29.     Washington                      35
30.     PROVIDENCE                      34

Also receiving votes: Air Force 20, Eastern Michigan 18, Colorado State 12, Tennessee 12, Princeton 8, Butler 3, Michigan State 2, Weber State 2, Duquesne 1.