New Orleans, La. - One season after taking home second place at the Sun Belt Conference Championships, Appalachian State University women's cross country was picked to win the league as voted by the Sun Belt's coaches, the conference announced on Tuesday.

"We're excited that the rest of the conference thinks that much of our team and it's certainly nice to have that ranking heading into the preseason," said head coach Michael Curcio. "There's a lot of work to be done by all the teams between now and Nov. 1, but we have to stay healthy and get through the whole season to be ready for that date."

App State topped the poll with 115 points and six of the 11 first-place votes, UT Arlington came in at second with 113 points and the five remaining first-place votes while UL Lafayette concluded the top three with 85 points. The middle five spots were occupied by Arkansas State (84 points), Georgia State (82 points), South Alabama (63 points), Little Rock (60 points), and Texas State (52 points). The bottom three included Troy (34 points), Georgia Southern (22 points) and UL Monroe (16 points).

"We're looking forward to another challenge in Georgia for the Sun Belt Championships," said Curcio. "Aside from host Georgia State, the other teams in this conference aren't really familiar with that course so it'll be interesting to see how the league prepares for it."

The Mountaineers will open the season by hosting the Covered Bridge Open in Boone on Friday, Sept. 4. As mentioned above, the Sun Belt Championships will take place in Hampton, Ga. on Sunday, Nov. 1.