STANFORD, Calif. -- The Stanford men's cross country team earned a No. 1 preseason ranking by Flotrack, while the Cardinal women were picked No. 8.
The rankings are unofficial, but they do reinforce the idea that Stanford should be in the mix for a national title after finishing second in 2014 and third in 2015.
In the USTFCCCA rankings, which are official, the Stanford men open the season ranked No. 4, trailing Syracuse, Oregon, and Northern Arizona, in that order. The Cardinal women are ranked No. 7. In the USTFCCCA West Region rankings, the Stanford men are No. 2, and the women are No. 3.
In Flotrack's view, the title should come down to Stanford or defending champion Syracuse. The Orange features junior Justyn Knight, who was fourth at the NCAA Championships last fall, and the Cardinal is led by senior Sean McGorty, who was seventh at that race. McGorty, however, beat Knight in all three track meetings last year, though all were shorter than the NCAA cross country distance of 10 kilometers.
The decider was the quality of Stanford's depth, with the Cardinal having the potential for low sticks in the bottom of its lineup. McGorty, sophomore Grant Fisher, and Sam Wharton have each earned All-America honors in cross country. Meanwhile, fifth-year senior Garrett Sweatt and Jack Keelan seem on the verge of doing the same. And Alex Ostberg, a freshman in eligibility, and steeplechaser Steven Fahy could make an impact as well.
In Flotrack's individual rankings, McGorty was No. 6 and Fisher No. 14. The women's individual rankings include Stanford's Elise Cranny at No. 9 and Vanessa Fraser at No. 20.
Earlier this month, in Flotrack's recruiting class rankings, it was no surprise that Stanford's highly-touted women's distance class earned top national honors, but it was joined at No. 1 by the Cardinal men's recruiting class.
The difference is that the loaded five-member women's class, which features World Junior 1,500-meter bronze medalist Christina Aragon and U.S. Junior 5,000 meet record holder Fiona O'Keeffe, should contribute right away. The entire men's freshman class, which includes Nike Cross Nationals third-placer Alek Parsons, likely will redshirt.
The Stanford men's and women's cross-country teams have combined for nine NCAA team championships, 28 regional titles and 32 conference championships. Both of Stanford's teams have advanced to the NCAA Championships for the past 22 years.
Stanford's cross country runners report on Sept. 1 and compete in their first meet on Saturday at the USF Invitational at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park (Speedway Meadow). The women race at 9:30 a.m. and the men at 10:15 a.m.