BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University men and
women's cross country teams each were picked to finish eighth in the Ohio
Valley Conference's preseason poll, released Thursday.
With both his team's reporting to campus, Tuesday, head
coach Doug Molnar is encouraged by what he has seen in their first few
preseason practices. He is even less concerned with the league's preseason
prognostication, which he feels is not indicative of his team's potential this
upcoming season.
"A lot of the rankings are based on what you do the
previous year," said Molnar. "We finished eighth in both the men and women's
competitions last year so that's probably where we should be picked. I believe
we're going to be stronger than both those finishes by the time the
championship rolls around. I really like these two teams and how close-knit
they are with one another."
Eastern Kentucky was picked to win the men's championship,
receiving all nine possible first-place votes (coaches could not vote for their
own team) and finishing with 81 points. Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois
were picked to finish tied for second place with 68 points each, Southeast
Missouri received the remaining first-place vote. The Govs (28 points) were
picked to finish ahead of both Murray State (21) and Tennessee State (12).
The Governors return four runners from last season's
squad, including team most valuable player junior Enock Langat. He
led the team in all six races last season, despite a late-season injury. That
group of returners will be joined by three newcomers. Heading that group will
be sophomore transfer Geofrey Kosgei, who comes to Austin Peay
from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, where he finished 17th in Southwestern Athletic
Conference's Cross Country Championship.
"Enock finished last season with a strong run at the
regionals," said Molnar. "He's gotten healthy and comes back to us, after a big
summer, in good shape. I believe Geofrey will be the big addition to the men's
team. He ran some good times at UAPB last season and should help solidify our
top group.
"We don't have a whole lot numbers-wise, but I believe we're
going to be solid up front. Our top four will be pretty good, it's just a
matter of who will step up as our number-five guy."
Eastern Kentucky also was picked to win the women's
championship, again receiving all nine possible first-place votes and posting
81 points. Eastern Illinois (70 points) was picked second followed by Murray
State (63). The Lady Govs (28 points) were selected ahead of UT Martin (24) and
Tennessee State (10).
A youth movement is underway on the Lady Govs cross
country roster with just two returnees - juniors Janelle Avery and Alyssa
Molnar - from last season's team to be joined by five freshmen. Avery returns
after earning team most valuable player honors last season following a campaign
that saw her lead the team in all six competitions. Highlighting the large
group of newcomers are Kendra Kirksey and Miranda Weed.
"We are very young on the women's side," said Molnar. "We
have just two juniors coming back and one of them is Janelle, our team MVP. It's
always nice to have that person come back so we have some leadership up front. Our
first two meets will be an opportunity to find out what we have among all the
freshmen."
Both teams will get the 2010 campaign underway at the
Belmont Opener, Friday, Sept. 3, at Percy Warner Park in Nashville.
- AP -