University of North Carolina Athletics
Cross Country Teams Start Season Ranked Nationally
August 31, 2022 | Cross Country
In 2021, the UNC men's and women's teams both placed in the top 18 at the NCAA Championships as they competed together at the national meet for the first time since 2014. The women's team placed 14th overall for the second year in a row and the men's team placed 18th.
The Atlantic Coast Conference placed four teams in the 2022 preseason men's rankings, tied with the Southeastern Conference for most in the nation. Those ranked ACC teams include No. 9 Wake Forest, No. 14 Notre Dame, No. 16 Carolina and No. 21 Syracuse. Florida State and NC State also received votes.
Four ACC teams grabbed spots in the women's preseason poll: No. 1 NC State, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 14 UNC and No. 30 Florida State.
The USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll for DI ranks the top 30 teams in the country. The voting panel of 11 consists of nine regional representatives, plus two members of the DI Cross Country Executive Committee, per gender. In 2022, there is a preseason ranking plus seven additional poll weeks.
The Tar Heel men begin the season ranked No. 3 in the Southeast Region rankings behind only Wake Forest and Furman, while the women are No. 2 in the Southeast Region women's rankings behind only NC State.
After two straight 14th-place finishes at the NCAA Cross Country Championships ... the Tar Heel women's squad starts the 2022 season at ... (you guessed it) ... No. 14!#GoHeels 🐏 pic.twitter.com/LdD9jqZskC
— UNC Track & Field • XC (@UNCTrack_Field) September 1, 2022
Men's cross country starts the season at No. 16 in the @USTFCCCA preseason rankings …#GoHeels 🐏 pic.twitter.com/HPE65q8BbI
— UNC Track & Field • XC (@UNCTrack_Field) September 1, 2022
