Cedar City, Utah - The SUU men's cross country team qualified for the NCAA National Championships over the weekend and their efforts have been recognized as they jumped to No. 24 in the Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll.

This is a big jump from the previous poll, where they were just outside the rankings as one of the teams receiving votes.

The T-Birds finished fourth at the NCAA Mountain Regional on Friday and were named to the Nationals field officially on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds were the only team in the Big Sky Conference to finish in the top-30 of the poll.

Colorado has been rated as the No. 1 team in the country, followed by No. 2 Syracuse and No. 3 Stanford.

The Thunderbirds are set to run on Saturday morning in Louisville, Kentucky.