SPARTANBURG, S.C. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's and women's cross country teams were picked to finish second in the Southern Conference Championships in preseason balloting conducted by the league's head coaches, the conference office announced Tuesday.

The Lady Mocs, winners of the last three conference championships, received 4.5 first place votes and 111.5. Chattanooga returns all-conference performer Tara Gietema who led the Lady Mocs to their seventh overall title with a fifth-place finish at the league championship. She will be joined by Anneli Uys who qualified in two events at the NCAA Outdoor Track Regional last spring and all-freshman team member Meredith White.

Samford received 7.5 first place votes and 118.5 points to lead all schools. Furman was picked to finish third with 94 points followed by Elon (86) in fourth while Appalachian State and Davidson tied for fifth with 84 points apiece. The Bulldogs return three of their top-20 finishers from the 2008 championship, including junior Hillary Neal, who finished third overall and was named first-team all-conference. Also returning for Samford are sophomores Andrea Seccafien and Deanna Zidar. Seccafien, who was honored as 2008 Freshman-of-the-Year, was named to the first-team all-conference. Both Seccafien and Zidar garnered all-freshmen team honors.

The Mocs, who finished second in the 2008 championships, received two first-place votes and 91 votes overall. Four of the top-20 finishers at last year's championships return for the Mocs, including senior David Moore, juniors Emmanuel Kirwa and Chris Berry, as well as sophomore Joshue Vasquez. Kirwa, who took first place at the championships, was honored as the 2008 Men's Runner-of-the-Year. He joined Berry on the 2008 first-team all-conference, while Moore was named to the second team. Vasquez was honored as the 2008 Freshman-of-the-Year and an all-freshmen team selection.

Appalachian State, who received eight first-place votes and 97 points overall, return five runners who finished in the top 20 at the 2008 SoCon Championships. Those runners include seniors Phil Mitchell, Josh Houser, Alec Meyer, junior Michael Walker and sophomore Sean Soderman. Mitchell, who finished with the third-best time overall, was a 2008 first-team all-conference selection. Soderman was named to the all-freshmen team.

The Mocs will begin the season Friday, Sept. 11 with the annual UTC Opener at the Moccasin Bend Race Course. The 2009 SoCon Championships will be held on Saturday, Oct. 31 in Elon, N.C.

Note: Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team in the preseason ballot.

2009 Cross Country Preseason Polls

Men

Team (#1 votes)                        Points

1. Appalachian State (8)             97

2. Chattanooga (2)                     91

T3. Davidson (1)                        68

T3. Furman                                68

T3. UNC Greensboro                 68

6. Elon                                      58

7. Samford                               55

8. Western Carolina                   41

9. College of Charleston            28

10. The Citadel                          21

11. Wofford                              10

 

Women

Team (#1 votes)                       Points

1. Samford (7.5)                        118.5

2. Chattanooga (4.5)                  111.5

3. Furman                                 94

4. Elon                                      86

T5. Appalachian State                84

T5. Davidson                            84

T7. College of Charleston          51

T7. UNC Greensboro                 51

T7. Western Carolina                  51

10. The Citadel                          28

11. Georgia Southern                 23

12. Wofford                              12