Great American Conference women’s cross country coaches have picked Arkansas Tech University to finish sixth among 11 league teams competing in the sport in fall 2016.
The GAC office released the preseason poll on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
Three-time defending champion Harding University is the favorite to win the 2016 GAC women’s cross country title. The Lady Bisons received nine first-place votes and 99 points in the poll.
East Central University (2nd, 87 points), Southern Arkansas University (3rd, 85 points) and Southwestern Oklahoma State University (4th, 75 points) are viewed by league coaches as the top candidates to take the crown away from Harding.
Southern Nazarene University (5th, 58 points), Arkansas Tech (6th, 56 points) and Southeastern Oklahoma State University (7th, 50 points) were tightly bunched in the middle of the preseason poll.
Henderson State University (T-8th, 29 points), Ouachita Baptist University (T-8th, 29 points), Northwestern Oklahoma State University (10th, 24 points) and the University of Arkansas-Monticello (11th, 13 points) completed the coaches’ predictions for 2016.
Arkansas Tech head coach Tom Aspel and the Golden Suns are scheduled to begin their season at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3, by running in the Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis, Tenn.
