Pitt Picked Eighth, 13th in ACC Cross Country Preseason Poll
9/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The University of Pittsburgh women’s and men’s cross country teams were picked eighth and 13th, respectively, in the Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Preseason Poll Thursday.
“The ACC is a great conference for women’s cross country,” women’s coach Adam Bray said. “We are excited for the challenge of improving upon our finish from last fall.”
The predicted order of finish is based on voting by the league’s head coaches. Reigning NCAA champion Syracuse was picked to claim its fourth consecutive ACC men’s cross country title, and the NC State women were selected as 2016 conference favorites.
Each Panther squad improved on its 2015 preseason ranking. The women made the biggest jump, from 14th to eighth, while the men were elevated from 14th to 13th.
Looking to build on a successful 2015 season, the women’s team returns 31 student-athletes while adding six newcomers. In November, the Panthers tied their best NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship placement in program history, finishing seventh. Sophomore Gillian Schriever returns as one of the top performers from 2015, when she led the Panthers at the ACC Championship and appeared on the All-ACC Academic Team.
The men’s 12-member squad features eight returners. Junior Ryan Hughes assumes a leadership role as an upperclassman after making one of Pitt’s top performances at the 2015 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, finishing 66th out of 174 runners in the 10K as a sophomore.
“We’ve grown as a team since last year, and so have our expectations,” men’s coach Bryan Jackson said. “This is a highly competitive conference and we’re ready to show what we’re capable of.”
Both complete polls are listed as follows:
WOMEN
- NC State
- Virginia
- Notre Dame
- Syracuse
- Virginia Tech
- Florida State
- Boston College
- Pitt
- North Carolina
- Duke
- Clemson
- Wake Forest
- Louisville
- Georgia Tech
- Miami
MEN
- Syracuse
- Virginia
- NC State
- Louisville
- Virginia Tech
- Florida State
- Notre Dame
- North Carolina
- Duke
- Clemson
- Georgia Tech
- Wake Forest
- Pitt
- Boston College
- Miami
The Panthers’ regular season begins Saturday, Sept. 3, at the Duquesne Duals held in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park. The women’s 5K race will start at 9 a.m. ET, and the men’s 8K race follows at 9:45 a.m. ET.