Mount Olive Picked as Favorite to Win 2015 Women's Cross Country Championship
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The University of Mount Olive women’s cross country team was picked to win the 2015 Conference Carolinas Cross Country Championship, the conference office announced today.
The Trojans, who were the Conference Carolinas runner-up in 2014, topped the women’s preseason poll after collecting five first-place votes and 77 total points.
King, the three-time defending Conference Carolinas champions, barely came in second in the women’s poll after receiving five first-place votes and 76 total points.
Limestone finished third in 2014 and has been tabbed No. 3 in the 2015 preseason poll with 65 points.
North Greenville and Converse each posted 49 points to come in fourth place in the poll.
The Crusaders finished sixth in the Conference Carolinas Championship last season, while the Valkyries wrapped up 2014 with a fourth-place finish.
Barton was picked sixth with 41 points after finishing fifth in the 2014 Conference Carolinas Championship.
Pfeiffer, who finished eighth in 2014, was selected seventh in the preseason poll with 28 points and Erskine was tabbed eighth with 25 points after concluding 2014 with a seventh-place finish.
Closing out the women’s preseason poll is Belmont Abbey with 22 points and Lees-McRae with 18 points. The Crusaders and Bobcats finished 2014 with ninth and tenth-place finishes, respectively, at the Conference Carolinas Championship.
2015 Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
| School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. Mount Olive (5) |
77 |
| 2. King (5) |
76 |
| 3. Limestone |
65 |
| 4. North Greenville |
49 |
| 4. Converse |
49 |
| 6. Barton |
41 |
| 7. Pfeiffer |
28 |
| 8. Erskine |
25 |
| 9. Belmont Abbey |
22 |
| 10. Lees-McRae |
18 |
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.