Campbell Tops 2019 Preseason Men's Cross Country Poll
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Four-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 are the preseason favorite for the fourth consecutive year.
Campbell, which has also had the individual champion during its current four-year title run, claimed the top spot in this year’s poll with eight first-place votes and 118 points. CU is led by 2017 Big South Champion and two-time All-American runner Amon Kemboi, who finished seventh in the 2018 National Championship. Also returning for the Camels this season is 2018 All-Conference finisher Hunter Gilbert.
Charleston Southern, which was runner-up in last year’s conference meet, finished second in the poll with 110 points and collected the three remaining first-place votes -– the Buccaneers’ highest preseason ranking in more than 17 years. High Point placed third in the voting with 101 points, while UNC Asheville claimed fourth in the poll with 82 points. USC Upstate followed in fifth place with 67 points, with Radford in sixth at 64 points. Winthrop garnered seventh-place with 49 points, followed by Longwood (eighth, 41 points), Presbyterian College (ninth, 39 points), Hampton (10th, 28 points) and Gardner-Webb (11th, 27 points).
The men’s cross country season begins Friday, Aug. 30. The 2019 Big South Men’s Cross Country Championship is slated for Saturday, Nov. 2, in Buies Creek, N.C., and will be hosted by Campbell University.
2019 BIG SOUTH PRESEASON MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY POLL
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - Campbell (8) |
118 |
| 2 - Charleston Southern (3) |
110 |
| 3 - High Point |
101 |
| 4 - UNC Asheville |
82 |
| 5 - USC Upstate |
67 |
| 6 - Radford |
64 |
| 7 - Winthrop |
49 |
| 8 - Longwood |
41 |
| 9 - Presbyterian College |
39 |
| 10 - Hampton |
28 |
| 11 - Gardner-Webb |
27 |
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.