IRVING — UTSA was picked to finish sixth in the preseason Conference USA poll that was announced by the league office on Wednesday morning.
In a vote of the circuit's head coaches, defending champion UTEP picked up nine first-place votes and is the preseason favorite. The Miners were followed by Middle Tennessee, which picked up the other first-place nod, and North Texas, Rice and Charlotte were slotted third through fifth, respectively, ahead of the Roadrunners. Marshall, Louisiana Tech, WKU, UAB, Florida Atlantic and FIU rounded out the rankings.
This year's C-USA Championships are scheduled to take place on Oct. 29 in Concord, N.C.
"We are excited to be ranked in the Conference USA preseason poll," cross country coach Dave Hartman said. "We have a great group of young runners who are excited to get the season going. We think we can drastically improve when the season moves to the Conference USA Championships in late October."
The men, who return six letterwinners from a year ago, are coming off last year's sixth-place finish at the league meet. Junior Alex Cruz is the squad's top returning finisher from last season's conference meet after placing 31st, while fellow third-year runner John von Dohlen is the top returning placer from the NCAA South Central Regional (82nd place).
The Roadrunners will begin their campaign next Friday, Sept. 2, in College Station when they compete at the Aggie Opener.
