ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst College men’s cross country team has been picked to finish 13th this season in the annual Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll released Friday afternoon.
The Lakers, under the direction of head coach
Mike Fraley, finished above cross-town rival Gannon and Cheyney. Two-time PSAC Champion Edinboro received 12 of 16 first place votes to claim the top spot on the men's side. Lock Haven, which won the NCAA Regional title last year, came in second and received the remaining four first place votes. Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and IUP rounded out the top five.
Mercyhurst returns several key runners from the 2008 edition, highlighted by senior
Tomas Bolger and sophomore
Keven Gregg. Bolger led the Lakers with eight top-50 finishes and two top-10 markings while Gregg capped off an impressive freshman campaign with three top-50 readings. The two runners were the only Lakers to finish 1-2 in every race last season.
Altogether, Noble’s team returns seven runners and will add three newcomers to bring the squad total to 10.
The Lakers will open the 2009 season on Saturday, Sept. 5 at the California (Pa.) Invitational in California, Pa.
Listed below is the preseason PSAC men's cross country coaches' poll. First place votes are in parenthesis.
1. Edinboro (12)
2. Lock Haven (4)
3. Shippensburg
4. Slippery Rock
5. IUP
6. East Stroudsburg
7. Bloomsburg
8. Mansfield
9. Millersville
10. Kutztown
11. California
12. West Chester
13. Mercyhurst
14. Gannon
15. Cheyney