Tulane Cross Country Teams Nationally Ranked By USTFCCCA
The weekly poll of United States cross country coaches was released this week, and the Tulane teams both ended up in the rankings.
The men’s team, led by Bernard Cheruiyot, after finishing 11th overall of 32 teams at the Gans Creek Classic last week and finishing faster than seven ranked opponents, moved up to No. 18 nationally in the poll released on Sept. 30. The program was ranked at No. 23 nationally coming into the meet in the poll released on Sept. 16. The team is also currently the No. 1 ranked program in the South Central Regional rankings after being ranked at No. 2 regionally in both the preseason and the poll released on Sept. 15.
The women’s team is ranked for the first time this season as the program checks in at No. 30 nationally following finishing 14th at the Gans Creek Classic last week. The program entered the meet receiving votes in the last poll of the coaches. The women’s squad is also tops in the South Central Regional rankings after placing at No. 2 in the preseason and the regional poll taken on Sept. 15.
The programs have had strong starts during the fall and have already garnered three weekly conference awards in men’s runner Bernard Cheruiyot (Sept. 2 and Sept. 30) and women’s runner Dorcas Naibei (Sept. 30).
Up next, the teams will compete on Oct. 17 at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin.
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.