Mount Olive Voted Favorite to Win 2016 Men's Cross Country Championship
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The University of Mount Olive men's cross country team has been named the favorite to win the 2016 Conference Carolinas Men's Cross Country Championship, the conference announced today. The Trojans pulled nine first-place votes for a total of 90 points.
Mount Olive enters 2016 as a four-time defending Conference Carolinas champion, after becoming only the second team in Conference Carolinas Men's Cross Country Championship history to record a perfect score.
The Trojans also captured the 2015 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional champion, which propelled them to their fourth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championship.
King University placed second in the preseason coaches poll with one first-place vote and 81 points. The Tornado is poised to capture its first Conference Carolinas championship after finishing runner-up the last five seasons.
Limestone College notched 73 points for a third-place finish in the preseason poll. The Saints will be looking to improve on finishing third at the 2015 Conference Carolinas Men's Cross Country Championship, which they scored a team total of 113 points.
Lees-McRae College tallied 62 points to narrowly place fourth in the poll, only one point ahead of North Greenville University in fifth with 61 points.
The Bobcats took fourth in last year's championship with 130 points, while the Crusaders registered a fifth-place finish with 132 points.
Barton College comes into 2016 ranked sixth with 48 points, followed by Belmont Abbey College in seventh with 39 points and Southern Wesleyan University eighth with 37 points.
The Bulldogs posted 139 points for a sixth-place finish at the Conference Carolinas Men's Cross Country Championship. The Crusaders would finish seventh in the 2015 championship with 175 points. The Warriors, who are entering their first season as full Division II members, will compete in their first Conference Carolinas Championship in 2016.
Closing out the poll in ninth and tenth are Pfeiffer University and Erskine College with 26 and 21 points, respectively.
The Falcons posted an eighth-place finish in 2015 with a team total of 205 points, while the Fleet turned in a ninth-place finish with 232 team points.
2016 Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
| School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. Mount Olive (9) |
90 |
| 2. King (1) |
81 |
| 3. Limestone |
73 |
| 4. Lees-McRae |
62 |
| 5. North Greenville |
61 |
| 6. Barton |
48 |
| 7. Belmont Abbey |
39 |
| 8. Southern Wesleyan |
37 |
| 9. Pfeiffer |
26 |
| 10. Erskine College |
21 |
2016 Conference Carolinas Men's Cross Country Runners to Watch:
Runners (Year):
Joel Lagat (Jr.) - Barton
Vincent Harris (Sr.) - Erskine
James Russell Ballowe (Jr.) - King
Tanner Cook (Sr.) - King
Morgan Greene (Jr.) - King
Charles Ramos (Jr.) - King
Michael Darazi (Sr.) - Limestone
Nils Reckemeier (So.) - Limestone
Scott Swing (Sr.) - Limestone
Adam Craig (Jr.) - Mount Olive
Jonathan Dahlke (Jr.) - Mount Olive
Brandon Boyd (Jr.) - Pfeiffer
Chris Laughlin (Sr.) - Pfeiffer
Kiernan Gordon (Fr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Robert Gwinn (Sr.) - Southern Wesleyan
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 University. Emmanuel College is currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.