The University of Portland men's cross country team begins the season ranked third nationally in the first poll by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Pilots trail Northern Arizona and BYU and are ahead of Stanford and Iowa State in the top five. The University of Oregon men's team is No. 8.
The Pilots return five of their top seven runners from the team that placed second at last year NCAA Cross Country Championships, including All-Americans Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse and Nick Hauger.
The UO women's team, which seems to have rebounded from a tumultuous offseason, is fourth in the first USTFCCCA poll.