High Point Voted Preseason Favorite in Women's Cross Country
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Defending Big South women’s cross country champion High Point 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 Panthers, led by 2017 Big South Champion Famke Heinst as well as All-Conference performers Julia Hellman, Zoe Geis and Keaton Case, collected nine of 11 first-place votes and 118 points in the voting to win its second consecutive Big South title. Campbell received one first-place vote and 110 points to finish second in the poll, while UNC Asheville was third with 85 points.
Charleston Southern finished fourth in the voting with 78 points -- its highest preseason ranking since 2002 and just ahead of new member Hampton, which received the remaining first-place vote and placed fifth in the poll with 75 points. Radford claimed sixth place with 70 points, followed by Winthrop in seventh with 64 points. New member USC Upstate landed in eighth (49 points), followed by Gardner-Webb (ninth, 33 points), Presbyterian College (10th, 26 points) and Longwood (11th, 18 points).
The women’s cross country season begins Friday, Aug. 31. The 2018 Big South Women’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 WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY POLL
| Rk - Team (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - High Point (9) |
118 |
| 2 - Campbell (1) |
110 |
| 3 - UNC Asheville |
85 |
| 4 - Charleston Southern |
78 |
| 5 - Hampton (1) |
75 |
| 6 - Radford |
70 |
| 7 - Winthrop |
64 |
| 8 - USC Upstate |
49 |
| 9 - Gardner-Webb |
33 |
| 10 - Presbyterian College |
26 |
| 11 - Longwood |
18 |
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.