Cyclone Men's XC Starts 2017 At No. 12

AMES, Iowa – The anticipation for the Iowa State men's cross country season continued to pick up as the Cyclones will begin the 2017 campaign as the No. 12 team in the nation, as revealed in today's USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Preseason National Coaches' Poll.

Since the inception of the Preseason Coaches' Poll in 1998, ISU's previous highest ever preseason ranking was No. 18 in 2010. The Cyclones were last in the Preseason Coaches' Poll in 2015, when they checked in at No. 25.

Martin Smith's Iowa State men ran to a 16th place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships, the highest finish since 1997, and made its first trip to the NCAA meet since 2009. The Cyclones return a core of young talent led by sophomores Andrew Jordan and Thomas Pollard, both of whom finished in the top-10 at the 2016 Big 12 XC Championships. Pollard would go on to finish 45th at the NCAA XC Championships and earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors.

The Cyclone men begin the cross country season on Friday at the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City. The men's 6K will begin at 6:45 p.m.