CCAC News
Posted by Nancy Binger - Tue, Aug 18, 2009 - [ Women's Cross Country ] - Viewed 438 times

After winning it's first ever Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Championship in 2008, Saint Xavier University has been selected as the preseason favorite to repeat as champions in a vote of the conference's nine coaches. Saint Xavier featured five runners in the top eight of last year's league championship meet, including the second-place finisher. The Cougars then finished 19th in the nation at the NAIA National Championship.

Saint Xavier garnered seven of the nine first-place votes and 66 votes overall in this year's poll to earn the top nod. Illinois Institute of Technology, which collected one of the other first-place votes, totaled 61 votes and was predicted to finish second.

The next four teams were separated by just seven votes. University of St. Francis was chosen as the third-place favorite with 49 votes, while Trinity Christian College was right behind with 48 votes. Olivet Nazarene University, who earned the other first-place vote, came in with 47 votes. Second-year program Judson University gained the No. 6 spot with its 42 votes.

Rounding out the poll were Robert Morris University (30 votes), Cardinal Stritch University (28) and first-year competitor Holy Cross College (13).

The complete 2009 CCAC Preseason Women's Cross Country Coaches Poll is listed below:

Team (1st place votes) --- Total Votes
1. Saint Xavier (7) --- 66
2. Illinois Tech (1) --- 61
3. St. Francis --- 49
4. Trinity Christian --- 48
5. Olivet Nazarene (1) --- 47
6. Judson --- 42
7. Robert Morris --- 30
8. Cardinal Stritch --- 28
9. Holy Cross --- 13