GolThe Minnesota men's and women's cross country teams are idle this weekend, but both were listed among the nation's best in the first regular-season release of the national cross country polls. The Golden Gopher women's team is ranked No. 25 in the Finish/Lynx Women's Cross Country National Poll, while the men's squad is tied for No. 25 with Oklahoma State in the MONDO Men's Cross Country National Poll.

Minnesota is one of just six schools to have its men's and women's cross country teams advance to the NCAA Championships for the last five consecutive seasons. Both the Golden Gopher men and women are chasing their sixth straight trip to the NCAA Championships.

The Golden Gophers' next competition is Saturday, Sept. 28, when Minnesota plays host to the Roy Griak Invitational. The Griak is the largest cross country meet in the nation, will all collegiate divisions and high school, both men and women, competing in seven races. The Gopher men will compete in the Men's Gold Race, which begins at 12 noon. The Gopher women run in the Women's Gold Race, set for a 1 p.m. start. The Griak is held at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcons Heights.

FinishLynx/NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country National Poll (Conducted by the Women's Cross Country Coaches Association) September 17, 2002 Ranking Team Points Preseason Poll 1. Brigham Young (13) 390 1 2. Georgetown 375 2 3. Stanford 359 4 4. Colorado 345 5 5. Notre Dame 333 10 6. North Carolina State 321 3 7. Arkansas 311 9 8. Duke 291 11 9. Michigan State 261 12 10. Northern Arizona 246 13 11. UCLA 236 15 12. Villanova 221 22 13. William & Mary 195 NR 14. Marquette 187 20 Penn State 187 rv 16. Yale 182 7 17. Boston College 178 8 18. Providence 173 14 19. Arizona State 165 19 20. Colorado State 160 18 21. Wisconsin 138 rv 22. Texas A&M 121 21 23. Columbia 97 26 24. Wake Forest 89 nr 25. Minnesota 81 17 26. Virginia 71 16 27. Arizona 61 25 28. Cornell 53 23 29. Weber State 46 30 30. Coastal Carolina 31 nr Other teams receiving votes: South Florida (23), Michigan (21), Todedo(19), North Carolina (17), Southwest Missouri State (17), Washington(14), Georgia Tech (11), Dartmouth (6), James Madison(5), Boston U.(3), Tennessee (3), Rhode Island (2). MONDO Men's Cross Country National Poll (Conducted by the U.S. Cross Country Coaches Association) September 17, 2002 Ranking Team Points Preseason Poll 1. Stanford (10) 444 2 2. Colorado (3) 427 1 3. Arkansas (2) 424 3 4. Wisconsin 406 4 5. Northern Arizona 393 5 6. Villanova 373 6 7. North Carolina State 355 7 8. Georgetown 318 t9 9. Providence 298 8 10. Oregon 296 t9 11. Brigham Young 294 11 12. Eastern Michigan 286 12 13. Weber State 253 18 14. Michigan State 249 14 15. Dartmouth 215 19 16. Colorado State 208 t16 17. Arizona State 184 13 18. Portland 167 15 19. Duke 160 20 20. Notre Dame 150 25 21. William & Mary 138 t16 22. Iona 137 21 23. Butler 112 24 24. Indiana 94 23 25. Minnesota 77 26 Oklahoma State 77 t29 27. Washington 72 27 28. Alabama 69 22 29. Michigan 44 28 New Mexico 44 nr Other teams receiving votes: Princeton (27), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo(24), Southern Methodist (23), Texas (18), Nebraska (16), LaSalle (14),Tennessee (14), Utah State (13), Wake Forest(10), Air Force (9), Montana State (7), UC Santa Barbara (4), Bucknell (2), Kansas (2), Florida State (1), Penn State (1).