ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Anderson University men's cross country team has been picked second in the South Atlantic Conference in a vote by the league's coaches, as released Wednesday afternoon by the conference office.
Mars Hill, which has won 14 consecutive Food Lion South Atlantic Conference men's cross country championships, was chosen by league coaches as the 2011 favorite and edged the Trojans in overall points. The Lions received seven first-place votes, followed by AU, which received the other three.
Anderson leads the league with four student-athletes on the preseason All-Conference team, also released on Wednesday. Mars Hill had one student-athlete on both the first and second teams.
Kyle Koby, Parks Edwards, Deniz Hay and Alex Pena each were named to the preseason All-SAC squad after notching stellar performances last season.
Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate tied for third in the coaches' poll. The Bears feature one first-team and two second-team selections on the preseason All-SAC team, while WU placed three on the first-team.
No. 5 in the preseason poll is Catawba, followed by Brevard, Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman. Catawba and Lincoln-Memorial each feature one student-athlete on the preseason All-SAC first team.
The poll is rounded out by Tusculum (No. 9) and Newberry (No. 10).
In total, nine of the preseason All-SAC selections - and the entire first team -- were named all-conference in 2010 as well. The list includes Mars Hill's Justin Gragg, whose second-place individual finish in the 2010 SAC Championship is the highest of any returning student-athlete.
The Trojans collected four top-ten finishes last season, including third place at last season's SAC Championship, as Koby earned both second team all-conference and all-freshman honors with a 13th-place finish at last year's championships, while Edwards was also named to the all-freshman team after finishing 16th. Hay and Pena finished 18th-place and 21st respectively, in the championships.
Anderson opens the 2011 campaign on Friday, Sept. 2, at the Eye-Opener in Greenville, S.C.
Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team Points (1st-Place)
1. Mars Hill 93 (7)
2. Anderson 89 (3)
3. Lenoir-Rhyne 77
3. Wingate 77
5. Catawba 55
6. Brevard 49
7. Lincoln Memorial 47
8. Carson-Newman 26
9. Tusculum 25
10. Newberry 12
Men's Cross Country Preseason All-SAC Team
First Team
Christian Crifasi, Catawba
Jakob Maidens, Lenoir-Rhyne
Derrick Lindsay, Lincoln Memorial
Justin Gragg, Mars Hill
Binyam Belachew, Wingate
Steve Hammond, Wingate
Andrew Smith, Wingate
Second Team
Parks Edwards, Anderson
Deniz Hay, Anderson
Kyle Koby, Anderson
Alex Pena, Anderson
Zack Queen, Lenoir-Rhyne
Mike Ryan, Lenoir-Rhyne
Eric Blackburn, Mars Hill
