PORTLAND, Ore. – Announced by the conference office on Thursday, the Saint Martin's Men's and Women's Cross Country teams were voted to finish 11th in both GNAC Preseason Coaches' poll.
COMPLETE RELEASE
Both squads return runners with GNAC Championships and NCAA West Regional experience, headlined by Miguel De LaMalena and Linsday Dorney. De LaMalena finished 78th at the GNAC Championships and 161st at NCAA Regionals while Dorney was 67th and 130th respectively.
Other notable returners include
Levi Schilter (81st and 165th) on the men's side and
Sadie Dalgleish (76th and 183rd) and
Yeshi Vaughan (86th and 174th).
The men's team brings in seven freshman to add to the roster, with four coming from the state of Washington, two from Hawaii and one from Alaska. On the women's side, the women add a freshman from Washington and one from Hawaii to add to the ranks.
The Saints begin the season at Puget Sound for the UPS Invitational before hosting their own home meet on September 22 on the campus of Saint Martin's. The rest of the schedule includes stops at Willamette, Warner Pacific, and Western Washington before traveling to the GNAC Championships on Nov 3.
| 2018 GNAC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON POLL |
| Rank |
Team (First Place Votes) |
2017 GNAC Finish |
Pts. |
| 1. |
Western Oregon (7) |
1st (51 pts.) |
102 |
| 2. |
Alaska Anchorage (2) |
2nd (64 pts.) |
94 |
| 3. |
Simon Fraser (1) |
3rd (70 pts.) |
92 |
|
Western Washington (1) |
4th (76 pts.) |
92 |
| 5. |
Central Washington |
6th (161 pts.) |
60 |
| 6. |
Northwest Nazarene |
5th (160 pts.) |
59 |
| 7. |
Montana State Billings |
7th (187 pts.) |
51 |
| 8. |
Seattle Pacific |
8th (224 pts.) |
38 |
| 9. |
Concordia |
10th (242 pts.) |
31 |
| 10. |
Alaska |
9th (235 pts.) |
27 |
| 11. |
Saint Martin's |
11th (331 pts.) |
14 |
| 2018 GNAC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON POLL |
| Rank |
Team (First Place Votes) |
2017 GNAC Finish |
Pts. |
| 1. |
Alaska Anchorage (9) |
1st (28 pts.) |
108 |
| 2. |
Simon Fraser (2) |
2nd (65 pts.) |
102 |
| 3. |
Western Washington |
3rd (87 pts.) |
87 |
| 4. |
Seattle Pacific |
4th (93 pts.) |
79 |
| 5. |
Central Washington |
5th (163 pts.) |
72 |
| 6. |
Northwest Nazarene |
8th (236 pts.) |
54 |
| 7. |
Western Oregon |
6th (190 pts.) |
51 |
| 8. |
Alaska |
7th (129 pts.) |
35 |
| 9. |
Concordia |
9th (240 pts.) |
31 |
| 10. |
Montana State Billings |
11th (301 pts.) |
23 |
| 11. |
Saint Martin's |
10th (255 pts.) |
19 |
| Points awarded on 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. |
