Campbell Tops Annual Preseason Men's Cross Country Poll
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Three-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 unanimous choice to repeat in 2018.
Campbell, which has also had the individual champion during its current three-year title run, claimed the top spot in this year’s poll with all 11 first-place votes and 121 points. CU is led by 2017 Big South Champion and All-American runner Amon Kemboi, as well as 2015 champion and All-American Lawrence Kipkoech. Also returning for the Camels this season are All-Conference runners Meshack Kipruto and Kelvin Kirui.
Charleston Southern, which placed third in last year’s conference meet, finished second in the poll with 103 points -– the Buccaneers’ highest preseason ranking in more than 16 years. High Point placed third in the voting with 95 points, while UNC Asheville claimed fourth in the poll with 86 points. Radford followed in fifth place with 70 points, with new member Hampton and Winthrop tied for sixth at 60 points. New member USC Upstate garnered eighth place with 53 points, followed by Gardner-Webb (ninth, 35 points), Presbyterian College (10th, 26 points) and Longwood (11th, 17 points).
The men’s cross country season begins Friday, Aug. 31. The 2018 Big South Men’s Cross Country Championship is slated for Friday, Oct. 26, in Kernersville, N.C., and will be hosted by High Point University.
2018 BIG SOUTH PRESEASON MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY POLL
| Rk - Team (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - Campbell (11) |
121 |
| 2 - Charleston Southern |
103 |
| 3 - High Point |
95 |
| 4 - UNC Asheville |
86 |
| 5 - Radford |
70 |
| T-6 - Hampton |
60 |
| T-6 - Winthrop |
60 |
| 8 - USC Upstate |
53 |
| 9 - Gardner-Webb |
35 |
| 10 - Presbyterian College |
26 |
| 11 - Longwood |
17 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system, with first-place votes receiving 11 points, followed by 10 points for second-place, and so on.