Big South Announces 2016 Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – For the first time since 2013, Liberty University has been voted the favorite in the conference’s annual women’s cross country preseason poll by the league’s head coaches, the Conference office announced Thursday. The Lady Flames topped defending champion High Point by one point in the voting.
Liberty, led by returning All-Conference performers Torree Scull and Anna Van Wyk, collected five first-place votes and 95 points in the voting to win its first Big South title since 2012. High Point received the remaining five first-place votes and 94 points to finish second in the poll, while UNC Asheville was third with 74 points -- its highest finish in the preseason poll since 2004.
Campbell finished fourth in the voting with 69 points, just ahead of Radford, which finished fifth with 62 points. Winthrop claimed sixth place with 51 points, followed by Gardner-Webb in seventh (39 points), Presbyterian College in eighth (27 points) and Longwood in ninth (25 points). Charleston Southern rounded out the poll in 10th with 12 points.
The women’s cross country season begins Thursday, Sept. 1. The 2016 Big South Women’s Cross Country Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting is slated for Friday, Oct. 28, in Asheville, N.C., and will be hosted by UNC Asheville.
2016 Big South Women’s Cross Country Preseason Poll
| Rk - Team (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - Liberty (5) |
95 |
| 2 - High Point (5) |
94 |
| 3 - UNC Asheville |
74 |
| 4 - Campbell |
69 |
| 5 - Radford |
62 |
| 6 - Winthrop |
51 |
| 7 - Gardner-Webb |
39 |
| 8 - Presbyterian College |
27 |
| 9 - Longwood |
25 |
| 10 - Charleston Southern |
12 |