University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's and Women's Cross Country Crack Top Five in Big South Preseason Poll
08.18.2016 | Cross Country
Charlotte, N.C. – Both UNC Asheville's men's and women's cross country teams cracked the top five in the 2016 Big South preseason poll, the conference announced today. The women were selected to finish third with 74 total points, while the men were voted fourth with 67 points.
Liberty University was voted to the top of the women's preseason poll with 95 total points and five first place votes. The Flames were just ahead of High Point University who also collected five first place votes, but finished with 94 total points.
Campbell topped the men's poll with 99 total points and nine first place votes. Liberty (90 points) and High Point (79 points) round out the top three in second and third respectively.
Asheville's women finished fourth at last year's Big South Championships behind High Point, Coastal Carolina, and Liberty. Additionally, Bulldog Junior Sarah Heisner earned All-Conference honors at the Championships. She was Asheville's highest finisher in either race in (eighth) overall with a time of 18:08.12.
The Bulldog Men placed fifth at the 2015 Championships held in Spartanburg, S.C. They were led by Dominic Collichio who produced a time of 25:50.49 to finish 17th overall.
The complete results form the coaches' poll are listed below:
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
2016 Big South Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
Rk Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Campbell (9) 99
2. Liberty (1) 90
3. High Point 79
4. UNC Asheville 67
5. Radford 60
6. Winthrop 54
7. Presbyterian College 34
8. Gardner-Webb 31
9. Longwood 24
10. Charleston Southern 12
Both teams will open their 2016 cross country seasons on September 3 at the Western Carolina Invitational in Cullowhee, N.C.
