Men’s Cross Country Picked Fifth, Announces Schedule
8/21/2013 5:20:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
Schedule
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The 2013 Davidson men's cross country schedule features five meets leading up to the SoCon Championships, at which the leagues' head coaches predicted a fifth-place finish for the Wildcats, the league office announced Wednesday.
UNCG was chosen as the Southern Conference preseason favorite. Furman and UNCG each received 73 points from the SoCon coaches, putting them in a tie for the top spot in the preseason poll. The Spartans hauled in six first-place votes, while the Paladins received two. Chattanooga received the final two first-place votes and 65 points overall, placing it in the third spot in the rankings. Defending SoCon champion Appalachian State is fourth with 64 points, and Davidson rounds out the top five with 48 points.
For the first time in six years, the 'Cats will not open the season at USC Upstate but will instead compete in the Carolina Challenge hosted by South Carolina on Friday, Aug. 30. After a two-week layoff, Davidson will hit the trails again Friday, Sept. 20 at the Wake Forest Invitational.
The Wildcats will return to familiar meets in the following weeks, with the nearby Charlotte Cross Country Invitational in McAlpine Park on Saturday, Sept. 28 and the annual trip to Louisville, Ky. for the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic Oct. 5. The regular season concludes Oct. 18 at Appalachian State's Blue Ridge Mountain Open.
The 2013 SoCon Championship will be held in Birmingham, Ala., Nov. 2. The meet will be the final SoCon event for the men's cross country team, which joins the Atlantic 10 in 2014-15. Following the SoCon meet, head coach Gary Andrew and the Wildcats head to Charlottesville, Va. for the 2013 NCAA Southeast Regional meet to be hosted by Virginia Nov. 15.
Andrew, entering his 27th season guiding the 'Cats, will be relying on a more inexperienced group with loss to graduation of three top performers in Demetrios Pagonis, Wes Reynolds and Vincent Weir. Senior Andrew Lantz will look to be among the team leaders after missing all but the first race last season, while sophomore Daniel Samet, junior Sal del Giudice, and senior Grayam Sailor-Tynes are amongst the top point scorers from 2012 that will be counted on as big contributors.
2013 Cross Country Preseason Polls
Team (1st place votes), Points
T1. UNCG (6), 73
T1. Furman (2), 73
3. Chattanooga (2), 65
4. Appalachian State, 64
5. Davidson, 48
6. Samford, 42
7. Western Carolina, 31
8. Elon, 25
9. The Citadel, 19
10. Wofford, 10
