Following tremendously successful seasons in 2009, the New York University men's and women's cross country teams find themselves in familiar positions to start 2010: represented in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III regional rankings.

The four-time defending University Athletic Association (UAA) champion men topped the Atlantic Region preseason rankings, while the women landed third in the Atlantic Region.

The NYU men's preseason ranking represents an improvement from the end of last season, when they placed third in the final regional rankings.  The Violets entered the NCAA Championship ranked seventh in all of Division III but took fourth place overall at the meet – outperforming both squads ranked ahead of them in the regional poll.

The impressive NCAA finish, combined with the return of three of its top seven runners from last year, including senior All-American Sebastian Schwelm (30th at NCAA's) and classmate Matt Turlip (38th), likely vaulted NYU to the top of this season's preseason regional poll.

Following the most successful season in program history, the NYU women open the season third in the regional poll, exactly where they ended last year.  With six of their top eight returning in 2009, led by junior Maeve Evans (127th) and sophomore Kirsten Keller (141st), the Violets hope to improve on their best-ever third-place finish at the UAA Championship and 24th-place finish at the NCAA Championship, their first-ever appearance at the national meet.

Competition for both teams should once again be steep in the UAA.  All eight of the Association's schools were ranked in both the men's and women's preseason regional polls.