Sun Belt Preseason Cross Country Poll Provides Motivation for Eagles
8/27/2014 4:20:00 PM | Track & Field/XC
Georgia Southern looks for highest-ever finish conference in first season in new league
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NEW ORLEANS – Georgia Southern Cross Country was selected ninth in the Sun Belt Conference preseason poll that was released today by the league office. Arkansas State, the 2013 league champion, earned the top spot with 112 points and six first-place votes. UT Arlington also received 112 votes, but only four first-place votes to stand in second place after preseason ballots were collected.
"For us having a young team, and entering a new conference, being picked ninth is encouraging and gives us something our young ladies can strive for. Our goal is to place the highest we have ever placed in conference competition," said Georgia Southern Head Coach Kelly Carter.
The Eagles begin their inaugural season as a member of the Sun Belt and will compete in the championship November 2nd in Mobile, Alabama, after racing in regular-season meets in the region. Georgia Southern begins competition in 2014 with four freshmen, Abby Booth, Karli Koning, Rebecca Parker and Bailey Willett joining sophomores Leigh Long and Ashton Lord on the course this weekend.
Recent Sun Belt Conference additions Georgia State (96 points, one first-place vote) and Appalachian State (86 points) took the third and fourth spots in the poll with South Alabama just four points behind the Mountaineers with 82 points. Only two points separated the number-six and number-seven teams with Texas State getting 61 points and UL Lafayette checking in with 59.
Troy was ranked eighth with 36 points with the Eagles in ninth (29 points), ahead of UALR (27 points) and UL Monroe in 11th with 26 points.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can follow Coach Kelly Carter on his official twitter account, @CoachCarter_STW.
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