Cross country picked first, fourth in Sun Belt

BOONE, N.C. - The Appalachian State women's cross country team starts its fall schedule as the favorite to win another Sun Belt Conference championship, this time on its home course.
 
The women were first and App State's men were fourth in the Sun Belt preseason polls released Thursday afternoon.
 
The 2017 conference championships will be held in Boone on Oct. 28, and reigning Sun Belt coach of the year Michael Curcio has five of the top seven runners back from the women's team that won the 2016 title in Dothan, Ala., with 43 points, 13 fewer than runner-up Coastal Carolina.
 
Natalie Kile, Phylissa Greeley, Kerry Leonard, Emily Fedders and Hana Ratcliffe return to lead the Mountaineers, who received eight of 12 first-place votes in the poll and totaled 140 voting points. Coastal Carolina was second with four first-place votes and 122 points.
 
App State's men, who lost four of their top seven runners from last year, totaled 67 voting points to rank behind UTA (nine first-place votes), Louisiana and Texas State in the preseason poll. Evan Georges, Collin Loy and Ryan Shannon are the Mountaineers' top returners.
 
Appalachian State opens the 2017 season Friday as the host school for the Covered Bridge Open on the Donnie Kennedy course in Boone. A women's 5,000-meter race at 5 p.m. will be followed by a men's 8,000-meter race at 5:45 p.m.
 
Women's cross country preseason poll (First-place votes)
1. Appalachian State (8) – 140 points
2. Coastal Carolina (4) – 122 points
3. UTA – 106 points
4. South Alabama – 100 points
5. Arkansas State – 89 points
6. Georgia State – 85 points
7. Texas State – 75 points
8. Louisiana – 61 points
9. Georgia Southern – 56 points
10. Troy – 40 points
11. Little Rock – 37 points
12. ULM – 23 points
 
Men's cross country preseason poll (First-place votes)
1. UTA (9) – 99 points
2. Louisiana (1) – 89 points
3. Texas State – 71 points
4. Appalachian State – 67 points
5. South Alabama – 59 points
6. Arkansas State – 52 points
7. Little Rock – 36 points
8. Coastal Carolina – 33 points
9.  Troy – 26 points
10. ULM – 16 points