Big South Announces 2017 Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Two-time defending Big South men’s cross country champion Campbell University has been voted the favorite in the conference’s annual preseason poll by the league’s head coaches, the conference office announced Thursday. The Camels were a near-unanimous choice to repeat in 2017.
Campbell, which won back-to-back Big South titles for the first time as league members in 2015 and 2016, claimed the top spot in this year’s poll with nine first-place votes and 99 points, ahead of Liberty’s 91 points (remaining first-place vote). CU is led by 2015 Big South Champion and 2016 Runner-Up Lawrence Kipkoech as well as All-Conference runners Meshack Kipruto and Kelvin Kirui.
High Point placed third in the voting with 73 points, while Radford claimed fourth in the poll with 71 points -- the Highlanders’ highest preseason finish in more than 15 years. Winthrop followed in fifth place with 58 points, with UNC Asheville in sixth at 49 points. Charleston Southern garnered seventh place with 40 points, followed by Gardner-Webb (eighth, 29 points). Longwood and Presbyterian College tied for ninth in the voting with 20 points each to round out the poll.
The men’s cross country season begins Friday, Sept. 1. The 2017 Big South Men’s Cross Country Championship is slated for Saturday, Oct. 28, in Lynchburg, Va., and will be hosted by Liberty University.
2017 Big South Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - Campbell (9) |
99 |
| 2 - Liberty (1) |
91 |
| 3 - High Point |
73 |
| 4 - Radford |
71 |
| 5 - Winthrop |
58 |
| 6 - UNC Asheville |
49 |
| 7 - Charleston Southern |
40 |
| 8 - Gardner-Webb |
29 |
| T9 - Longwood |
20 |
| T9 - Presbyterian College |
20 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system, with first-place votes receiving 10 points, followed by 9 points for second-place, and so on.