COLORADO SPRINGS -- The BYU men’s and women’s cross country teams have been selected to win the 2009 Mountain West Conference race in a vote by the league’s coaches on Wednesday.
Coming off its ninth MWC crown in 10 years and ninth-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Championships, the BYU men’s cross country team was selected to once again repeat as conference champions in 2009.
The Cougars received five of six first-place votes and had 25 points overall tallied. New Mexico received the other first-place vote and trailed by just four points with 21.
“New Mexico will be tough this year,” said head coach Ed Eyestone. “We really need to step up and be prepared because it will be a tough field all around. It should be an exciting race for first place this year.”
Air Force came in third with 17 points while Colorado State, Wyoming and TCU rounded up the final spots in the men’s preseason rankings.
The women’s team received six of nine first-place votes and 62 points overall following a successful 2008 campaign in which they finished as a runner-up to New Mexico in the MWC Championships.
The Lobos had three first-place votes and 59 points overall with Colorado State coming in third with 48 points. Air Force and Utah tied for fourth with 38 points while Wyoming (31), UNLV (20), TCU (17) and San Diego State (11) finished the list.
2009 MWC Preseason Polls
Men Women
1. BYU (5) 25 1. BYU (6) 62
2. New Mexico (1) 21 2. New Mexico (3) 59
3. Air Force 17 3. Colorado State 48
4. Colorado State 13 4. Air Force 38
5. Wyoming 9 Utah 38
6. TCU 5 6. Wyoming 31
7. UNLV 20
8. TCU 17
9. San Diego State 11