Mount Olive Selected to Win 2015 Men's Cross Country Championship
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The University of Mount Olive men’s cross country team was picked to win the 2015 Conference Carolinas Cross Country Championship, the conference office announced today.
The Trojans, who won their third straight Conference Carolinas Championship in 2014, collected eight first-place votes and 64 points to top the preseason poll.
Mount Olive also finished runner-up at NCAA Men’s Southeast Regional and placed No. 19 at the NCAA Division II National Championship.
King, the 2014 Conference Carolinas runner-up, placed No. 2 with one first-place vote and 55 points.
North Greenville collected 47 points and Limestone notched 40 points to place third and fourth, respectively in the preseason poll. The Crusaders finished fourth at the 2014 Conference Carolinas Championship, while the Saints placed third in the event.
Pfeiffer came in at No. 5 in the voting with 32 points, ahead of Belmont Abbey with 26 points at No. 6, which matched each school’s respective finishes in the 2014 Conference Carolinas Championship.
Wrapping up the men’s preseason poll is Lees-McRae and Barton tied at seventh with 25 points and Erskine ninth with nine points. The Bobcats and Bulldogs finished eighth and seventh, respectively, in 2014, while Erskine finished ninth.
2015 Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
| School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. Mount Olive (8) |
64 |
| 2. King (1) |
55 |
| 3. North Greenville |
47 |
| 4. Limestone |
40 |
| 5. Pfeiffer |
32 |
| 6. Belmont Abbey |
26 |
| 7. Lees-McRae |
25 |
| 7. Barton |
25 |
| 9. Erskine |
9
|
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan. Emmanuel College and Southern Wesleyan University are currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.