Women’s cross country picked to win SoCon title
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The UNCG women's cross country team was selected as the 2011 preseason favorite in the Southern Conference, while the men's team was predicted to earn runner-up honors by the league's head coaches, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
The UNCG women selected as the preseason favorite after taking third place in 2010. The Spartans received 10 first-place votes and earned 120 total points.
The Spartans return four runners who finished in the top 20 at last year's championship, including Ashley Schnell who won the league's individual title and was named the 2010 Southern Conference Women's Runner of the Year.
Samford, who won the 2010 Southern Conference title, was picked second in the conference by the coaches and received one first-place vote and 103 total points. Appalachian State rounded out the top three with 95 points.
The men's team was picked up one first-place vote and earned a total of 89 points as they were tabbed to finish second. Appalachian State, who was picked to win the league title for the seventh straight year, received 10 first-place votes and a total of 100 points.
UNCG earned runner-up honors at the 2010 SoCon Championships after Joey Thompson finished runner-up as an individual and teammate Mike Koech was named to the All-SoCon first team.
The Spartans will start their 2011 season on Sept. 3 at the Guilford College XC Carnival.
AGATE
2011 Cross Country Preseason Polls
Men
Team (#1 Votes) Points
1. Appalachian State (10) 100
2. UNCG (1) 89
T3.Davidson 78
T3. Chattanooga 78
5. Furman 62
6. Elon 56
7. Western Carolina 42
8. College of Charleston 36
9. Samford 35
10. The Citadel 18
11. Wofford 10
Women (#1 Votes) Points
1. UNCG (10) 120
2. Samford (1) 103
3. Appalachian State 95
4. Elon 93
5. College of Charleston(1) 80
6. Furman 73
T7. Davidson 60
T7. Chattanooga 60
9. Western Carolina 45
10. Wofford 25
11. The Citadel 23
12. Georgia Southern 14
- UNCG -