NEW ORLEANS – Following its second straight Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship, the Suffolk women's cross country climbed the latest U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCCA) Regional Rankings as the Rams appear seventh in the East, the national organization unveiled Tuesday.
The eighth-place position in the regional rankings is the highest in program history for the blue-and-gold surpassing the previous mark of ninth, which Suffolk has achieved multiple times with the last in the week 5 of the poll Oct. 13.
Suffolk hopped up to seventh after it cruised past its CCC counterparts on the conference's 6k course at Rotary State Park in Biddeford, Maine on Saturday. The Rams saw six of their seven scorers earn a place in the top-15 to top the eight-team field easily with a combined score of 33, 41 points better than runner-up the University of New England, who appears 10th in the week 7 edition of the regional ranks.
The USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Coaches' Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams' strengths with current season results, when applicable, in determining a rank-order by squad potential. Only USTFCCCA member programs are eligible to receive a ranking. The weekly regional ranking by the USTFCCCA began in 2010.
Suffolk has been featured in seven of the eight weekly regional polls by the USTFCCCA this year. Overall, the blue-and-gold has been ranked regionally seven times this season and eight times overall.
The Rams will use this week to prep for the 2022 NCAA Division III East Regionals, which are scheduled for next Saturday, Nov. 12 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.