The Tennessee men s cross country team was chosen to finish fourth in the SEC this season, the conference announced Monday. Our preseason ranking is respectable, head coach George Watts said. I expect several SEC teams to be ranked in the preseason NCAA poll. We will not be satisfied with a fourth-place finish, but I believe it is a good starting point.
The Vols, who have placed fourth at the SEC Championship the past two years, were awarded 76 points in the vote by conference coaches. Arkansas earned nine first-place votes and had 99 points to take top honors in the preseason poll. The Razorbacks were followed by Alabama with 86 points and the other two first-place votes. Florida was awarded 82 points and enters the season picked third. Points were awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis since South Carolina does not field a men s cross country team. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team in the poll.
Tennessee opens the season Aug. 31 in Boone, N.C., at the 8K Covered Bridge Open at the State Farm Cross Country Course. Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky., serves as this year s SEC Championship course on Oct. 27.
2007 SEC COACHES PRESEASON POLL (First-Place Votes in Parentheses)