Campbell Tops 2021 Preseason Spring Men's Cross Country Poll
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Five-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 today. The Camels are the preseason favorite for the fifth consecutive year.
Campbell, which has also had the individual champion during its current five-year title run, claimed the top spot in this year’s poll with nine first-place votes and 99 points. CU is led by 2019 Big South Champion and All-American runner Athanas Kioko, who finished 19th in the 2019 National Championship meet. Also returning for the Camels this season is 2019 All-Conference finisher Godwin Kimutai.
High Point finished second in the poll with 86 points and collected the remaining first-place vote -– the Panthers’ highest preseason ranking since being picked first in 2015. Charleston Southern, last year’s Runner-Up, placed third in the voting with 81 points, while UNC Asheville claimed fourth in the poll with 67 points. Radford followed in fifth place with 61 points, with USC Upstate in sixth at 47 points. Winthrop garnered seventh-place with 43 points, followed by Longwood (eighth, 30 points), Presbyterian College (ninth, 21 points) and Gardner-Webb (10th, 15 points). Hampton is not participating in cross country this spring season as the Pirates’ fall sports remain suspended due to the ongoing impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
The spring cross country season begins Saturday, Jan. 23, and the Big South Men’s Cross Country Championship is slated for Friday, March 5, on the campus of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C.
2021 BIG SOUTH PRESEASON SPRING MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY POLL
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - Campbell (9) |
99 |
| 2 - High Point (1) |
86 |
| 3 - Charleston Southern |
81 |
| 4 - UNC Asheville |
67 |
| 5 - Radford |
61 |
| 6 - USC Upstate |
47 |
| 7 - Winthrop |
43 |
| 8 - Longwood |
30 |
| 9 - Presbyterian College |
21 |
| 10 - Gardner-Webb |
15 |
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.