SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Appalachian State men's cross country team and Samford women's team have been chosen to win the 2009 Southern Conference Championships in preseason balloting conducted by the league's head coaches, the conference office announced today.
The Mountaineers took the men's title last season, while the Bulldogs finished second in women's competition.
Appalachian State, who received eight first-place votes and 97 points overall, return five runners who finished in the top 20 at the 2008 SoCon Championships. Those runners include seniors Phil Mitchell, Josh Houser, Alec Meyer, junior Michael Walker and sophomore Sean Soderman. Mitchell, who finished with the third-best time overall, was a 2008 first-team all-conference selection. Soderman was named to the all-freshmen team.
Also receiving first-place votes were Chattanooga and Davidson. The Mocs, who finished second in the 2008 championships, received two first-place votes and 91 votes overall. Four of the top-20 finishers at last year's championships return for the Mocs, including senior David Moore, juniors Emmanuel Kirwa and Chris Berry, as well as sophomore Joshue Vasquez. Kirwa, who took first place at the championships, was honored as the 2008 Men's Runner-of-the-Year. He joined Berry on the 2008 first-team all-conference, while Moore was named to the second team. Vasquez was honored as the 2008 Freshman-of-the-Year and an all-freshmen team selection.
The Wildcats received a first-place vote and 68 points overall, putting them in a three-way tie with Furman and UNC Greensboro. Davidson returns senior Lance Harden, who finished in the top 15 at last season's championship. The Paladins and the Spartans each had two top-20 finishers last year.
On the women's side Samford received 7.5 first-place votes and 118.5 points overall. The Bulldogs return three of their top-20 finishers from the 2008 championship, including junior Hillary Neal, who finished third overall and was named first-team all-conference. Also returning for Samford are sophomores Andrea Seccafien and Deanna Zidar. Seccafien, who was honored as 2008 Freshman-of-the-Year, was named to the first-team all-conference. Both Seccafien and Zidar garnered all-freshmen team honors.
Chattanooga, the 2008 Southern Conference champions, received the other 4.5 first-place votes and 111.5 points overall. Junior Tara Gietema, who finished fifth in the 2008 championship, returns for the Lady Mocs. She was a first-team all-conference selection last season.
Furman, who finished third at last year's championships, took third in the preseason poll with 94 points. The Paladins return three top-20 finishers from the championships, including the 2008 Runner-of-the-Year and first-team all-conference selection senior Megan Lordi, who finished first at the championships last season.
The 2009 Southern Conference Championships will be held on Saturday, October 31 in Elon, N.C.
Note: Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team in the preseason ballot.
2009 Cross Country Preseason Polls
Men
| |
Team (#1 votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
Appalachian State (8) |
97 |
| 2. |
Chattanooga (2) |
91 |
| T3. |
Davidson (1) |
68 |
| T3. |
Furman |
68 |
| T3. |
UNC Greensboro |
68 |
| 6. |
Elon |
58 |
| 7. |
Samford |
55 |
| 8. |
Western Carolina |
41 |
| 9. |
College of Charleston |
28 |
| 10. |
The Citadel |
21 |
| 11. |
Wofford |
10 |
Women
| |
Team (#1 votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
Samford (7.5) |
118.5 |
| 2. |
Chattanooga (4.5) |
111.5 |
| 3. |
Furman |
94 |
| 4. |
Elon |
86 |
| T5. |
Appalachian State |
84 |
| T5. |
Davidson |
84 |
| T7. |
College of Charleston |
51 |
| T7. |
UNC Greensboro |
51 |
| T7. |
Western Carolina |
51 |
| 10. |
The Citadel |
28 |
| 11. |
Georgia Southern |
23 |
| 12. |
Wofford |
12 |