Wingate Named Preseason Favorite in Women's Cross Country
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The Wingate Bulldogs were voted as the favorite in the 2024 South Atlantic Conference Women's Cross Country Coaches' Poll as announced by the league today.
Wingate, the defending SAC Champion who placed five runners in the top 10 at last year's championship, earned 11 first-place votes and 143 total points.
Coming in at No. 2 is Catawba who earned two first-place votes and 130 total points. Lenoir-Rhyne and Anderson are tied for third with 116 points apiece.
Lincoln Memorial was voted to finish fifth with 101 points and Carson-Newman earned the six-spot with 87 points.
Emory & Henry was tabbed to finish seventh with 72 points and Tusculum's 69 points placed them eighth in the poll.
Limestone earned 54 points to slot in at number nine and Newberry's 49 points ranked them 10th. Mars Hill, UVA Wise and Coker round out the poll.
In addition to the preseason coaches' poll, the SAC also released its 2024 Cross Country Runners to Watch list. Below is the full list of runners to watch by team during the 2024 season.
The 2024 SAC Cross Country Championships will take place October 26th at the Farm in Newberry, S.C.
2024 SAC Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
|
Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Score |
|
1. |
Wingate (11) |
143 |
|
2. |
Catawba (2) |
130 |
|
t-3. |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
116 |
|
t-3. |
Anderson |
116 |
|
5. |
Lincoln Memorial |
101 |
|
6. |
Carson-Newman |
87 |
|
7. |
Emory & Henry |
72 |
|
8. |
Tusculum |
69 |
|
9. |
Limestone |
54 |
|
10. |
Newberry |
49 |
|
11. |
Mars Hill |
40 |
|
12. |
UVA Wise |
23 |
|
13. |
Coker |
14 |
2024 SAC Cross Country Runners to Watch
Anderson
Men: Elliot Dotson, Spain Vaughn
Women: Kennedy Roush, Lucy Schmitt
Carson-Newman
Men: Colten Lee, Bryson Burkett
Women: Jenna Pitman, Peyton Couch
Catawba
Men: Oussama Ajala and Ian Pierce
Women: Madi Clay and Natalie Almond
Coker
Men: Josh Zeigler, Cody Stewart
Women: Olivia Durham, Diamond Bailey
Emory & Henry
Men: Kaleb Elswick, Matthew Klapak, Marcus Sosa
Women: Delaney Eller. Kennedy Harris, Tess Somervell
Lenoir-Rhyne
Men: Jacob Parkinson, Lewis Budgen
Women: Sabrina Fleig, Carolin Fuehren
Limestone
Lincoln Memorial
Men: Marig Englebrecht, Simon Fillers
Women: Grace Rose, Katie Smock
Mars Hill
Men: Braxton Cummings
Women: Sophie Ratcliff
Newberry
Men: Tyler Shumate, Jonah Wendland, Wyatt Strickland
Women: Sage Bowen
Tusculum
Men: Jerry Ricker
Women: Sofia Cuesta Fuoss
UVA Wise
Men: Jonah Adams, Chad Douglas, Avery Wells
Women: Lydia Slemp, Alexsis Porter, Jayden Sisk
Wingate
Men: Soheil Boufrizi, Hamza Chahid, Titouan Le Grix
Women: Laila Abouzaid, Ona Alonso, Sira Bo, Mollie Scott