THOMASVILLE, N.C. -- Anderson University earned the No. 1 spot in the Conference Carolinas preseason cross country poll voted on by the league's head coaches. Anderson, the defending conference champion, received 10 of the 12 first-place votes in the poll. After an injury-riddled season in 2006, Anderson head coach Randy Greer is hoping he can keep his women's cross country team healthy this season. The Lady Trojans battled through injuries last fall to win two meets, including the conference championship, before finishing fourth in the NCAA regional meet. "I think our women have been dominant the last couple of years," Greer said. "It's just a matter of getting them all healthy. I don't think we've got anything locked up, but if we run like we're supposed to run, we've got an extremely good shot of winning the conference, and we should contend for the region title and a trip to the national meet." Senior Jennifer Hitt will try and make conference history by winning her fourth individual league title at the Conference Carolinas meet Oct. 20 in Spartanburg. Because of injuries, Hitt ran in just four meets last fall, but won the individual league title and Runner of the Year award. Lees-McRae finished second in the poll. The Lady Bobcats have a pair of All-Conference returnees and a talented incoming class. Lees-McRae will be led by Dana Lindholm, last year's Freshman of the Year and All-Conference performers Ashley May and Demarea Colson. "This group is special," said Lees-McRae head coach Craig McPhail. "As I have watched their growth over the last year, I am pleased with where we are heading and the goals we have set. We are still young, but we are talented and our hard work should set us up for some really great things later in the year. Our top seven has really improved, giving us more of a pack mentality and helping us grow everyday in training." St. Andrews Presbyterian surprised the entire conference last season by finishing third in the conference championships. SAPC posted three top-3 finishes in '06 and also had their best finish ever -- seventh -- in the Southeast Regional. Reigning first-team All-Conference junior Alyson Trovato and second-team All-Conference senior Veronica Gobeyn will lead the deep St. Andrews roster. "We are excited about our freshmen class, and our team chemistry is the best it has ever been," said St. Andrews head coach Gary Aycock. "We are optimistic that combination will lead to a positive training atmosphere, which will produce successful race results in 2007." CVAC Women's Cross Country Pre-Season Poll (# of First Place Votes in Parenthesis) 1. Anderson (10) 119 2. Lees-McRae (1) 111 3. St. Andrews (1) 100 4. Queens 88 5. Barton 69 6. Pfeiffer 68 7. Coker 63 8. Converse 50 9. Limestone 45 T-10. Belmont Abbey 29 T-10. Mount Olive 29 12. Erskine 21