pThe Minnesota Women’s Cross Country team moved up one spot to No. 10 in this week’s Finish/Lynx NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Poll, released today. The Golden Gophers moved into the poll last week after placing second in the Roy Griak Invitational, then improved their ranking by winning the South Dakota State Invitational on Saturday.

The Gophers were ranked in the top 10 once before, when they held down the No. 8 spot for one week during the 2000 season.

Minnesota will send a squad to compete in the Minnesota-Duluth Pine Hills Invitational in Carlton, Minn., on Saturday, Oct. 8. The Gophers’ top runners, however, will take the week off before traveling to Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 15 for the Pre-NCAA Meet, a meet held on the course that will play host to the NCAA Championships in November.

FinishLynx / NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL POLL (Conducted by the Women's Cross Country Coaches Association) 2005 Poll #3 — October 3, 2005 Ranking Team (first place votes) Points 1. Duke (13) 390 1. Michigan 371 2. Stanford 363 3. Brigham Young 342 4. Illinois 328 5. Arizona State 327 6. Colorado 319 7. Notre Dame 309 8. North Carolina State 272 9. Minnesota 260 10. Wake Forest 254 11. Arkansas 241 12. Columbia 234 13. Baylor 210 14. Princeton 208 15. Oklahoma State 188 16. Michigan State 163 17. Tennessee 158 18. Georgetown 156 19. Providence 139 20. Butler 138 21. Virginia 105 22. Washington 90 23. Northern Arizona 87 24. Marquette 86 25. Boston College 66 26. Wisconsin 47 27. Georgia 46 28. Maryland 40 29. Oregon 37 Other Teams Also Receiving Votes: Missouri 24, Villanova 14, Cornell 11, Vanderbilt 10, Colorado State 5, UCLA 4, Yale 2, Wichita State 1. **NOTE** The next regular season poll will be released October 17, 2005.