Zack Jones

Cross Country/Distance Track 10/1/2019 1:12:00 PM Fraser Caldwell, Sport Information Officer

Top 10 Tuesday: Cross Country Falls, Football Rises with Three Marauders Teams Ranked

Mac’s cross country men fell to no. 2 despite topping an NCAA field in Chicago Saturday

The Marauders football team reached a high it had not enjoyed in nearly three years Tuesday, while McMaster's cross country men suffered a puzzling fall from the nation's top spot in the newest U SPORTS top 10 rankings.

Rounding out Mac's complement of three ranked teams, the Marauders women's rugby team dropped one spot to 10th in the newest list despite a 96-0 thumping of the Western Mustangs Sunday.

Fresh from their bye week, the Marauders football squad bumped up to the fourth spot in the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) and U SPORTS list after the previously third-ranked Calgary Dinos tumbled in the wake of their first conference loss in two seasons.

Mac gained the no. 4 ranking for the first time since October 19, 2016, in what was the second-to-last list of that year.

After enjoying the bye, the Marauders reënter play with a trip to Varsity Stadium in Toronto Saturday, where an intriguing battle between their league-leading pass defence and the Blues high-octane offence awaits.

U SPORTS-FRC Top 10: Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Rank	School	Record	Media Points (1st place)	ELO Points	Total Points	Previous Ranking
1	Western	6-0-0	234	240	474	1
2	Montreal	5-0-0	227	224	451	2
3	Laval	3-1-0	209	208	417	3
4	McMaster	4-1-0	188	144	332	5
5	Guelph	4-2-0	147	176	323	6
6	Acadia	5-0-0	107	192	299	7
7	Saskatchewan	3-2-0	137	160	297	9
8	Calgary	4-1-0	160	128	288	4
9	Alberta	4-1-0	140	64	204	10
10	Waterloo	4-1-0	92	112	204	NR
Honourable mention: Manitoba (129) Saint Mary's (115) Ottawa (103) Laurier (94) Carleton (43)

Continuing their torrid start to the 2019 season, McMaster's cross country men won their second meet in succession Saturday by topping the field at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago.

All-Canadian Max Turek finished three tenths of a second off of individual gold, with Andrew Davies and Alex Drover following in third and fourth to help Mac to a team total of 45 points that outpaced the team's nearest competitors, the Wisconsin Badgers, by 20.

Their effort was insufficient to prevent the Marauders from dropping to no. 2 in Tuesday's poll, with the defending U SPORTS champion Calgary Dinos retaking the top spot after dominating a three-team field at the Victoria Invitational.

McMaster will spend a week away from competition, before hosting a de facto preview of the OUA Championships in the form of their Marauders Bayfront Open at Hamilton's Bayfront Park on October 11.

U SPORTS Men's Cross Country Top 10: Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Rank	School	Points	Previous Ranking
1	Calgary	99	3
2	McMaster	87	1
3	Guelph	77	2
4	Laval	70	4
5	Alberta	49	5
6	Queen's	44	7
6	UBC	44	6
8	Toronto	18	8
9	StFX	15	NR
10	Western	13	8
Other teams receiving votes: Windsor (12), Dalhousie (11), Victoria (11), Trinity Western (7)

Similarly suffering a drop despite a dominant performance over the weekend, the Marauders women's rugby team fell to no. 10 in Tuesday's rankings after walloping Western to conclude the OUA regular season Sunday.

McMaster scored a total of 16 tries from 10 different scorers en route to a 96-0 victory, and moved to 2-2 on the season while earning the right to host an OUA quarterfinal at Ron Joyce Stadium.

The Marauders will play that match Saturday at 7:00 p.m. against the Trent Excalibur, with a likely semifinal trip to Guelph on the line.

U SPORTS Women's Rugby Top 10: Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Rank	School	Regular Season Record	ELO	Previous Ranking
1	Laval	5-0-0	1812.03	2
2	StFX	4-0-0	1791.81	3
3	Queen's	4-0-0	1771.92	1
4	Guelph	3-1-0	1669.49	6
5	Victoria	4-0-0	1631.18	7
6	Ottawa	2-2-1	1627.62	4
7	Calgary	4-1-0	1625.80	8
8	Acadia	3-1-0	1599.87	5
9	UBC	2-2-0	1559.33	11
10	McMaster	2-2-0	1555.85	9

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