Southern Utah Men First, Women Second in Cross Country Preseason Conference Poll

CEDAR CITY, Utah - Aug. 19 - Southern Utah has been picked first on the men's side and second on the women's side in the annual cross country preseason poll as released by the conference offices today. The men swept all but one first-place vote, while the women finished in second place by a mere three points.

SUU's men garnered 81 points and nine of ten first-place votes in the poll. They were followed by Oakland (65) and Oral Roberts with 62 points and a first-place vote. South Dakota State (55), IUPUI (50), Western Illinois (45) and North Dakota State (41) rounded out the top seven with IPFW and UMKC tying for eighth-place with 21 points and Centenary selected tenth with nine points.

On the women's side, IPFW, SUU and South Dakota State each collected three first-place votes with IPFW having the edge over the other teams with 74 points. Southern Utah finished with 71 points and South Dakota State in third with 70 points. North Dakota State collected the final first-place vote and 58 points, finishing fourth with Oakland (45), Oral Roberts (43), Western Illinois (35), IUPUI (28), UMKC (16) and Centenary (10) rounding out the poll.

"This is a tough conference with any number of teams able to win a championship and compete in any conference in the nation," head coach Eric Houle said. "You have to pick a first-place team and we're honored to be picked first on the men's side.

"Last year was a battle and we expect to see a great battle on the women's side again this year," he continued. "It is a great show of respect to have been selected among the top three of the conference on the women's side."

The cross country season is set to begin in less than two weeks when the Thunderbirds travel to Idaho State on August 30 for the Idaho State Invitational.

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