Men's and Women's Cross Country Picked 5th in GNAC - eagletimes.com

NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Colby-Sawyer College men’s and women’s cross country teams were each selected fifth in the 2018 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Preseason Poll.

The Colby-Sawyer women earned 94 points, while the men collected 83 as each enters their first season in the GNAC. Seventh-year head coach Lyndsay Ostler will lead the Chargers into the 2018 season with a good mix of returners and newcomers. The men’s team is returning four all-conference honorees from a season ago in Peter Bakker, Ben Jones, Bruin Smith and Kyle Hajj. The women’s team also brings back four all-conference award-winners in Martha Aschale, Amanda Boyd, Alison Fairbairn and Megan Spainhower.

The Chargers will begin the season on September 1 and will make Colby-Sawyer history as the team will host the first-ever Charger Cross Country Invitational at the soon-to-be dedicated Morris Trail at Kelsey Campus.

The Norwich men and women were picked as the favorite to repeat. The men received all 11 first-place votes for 121 points, while the Cadets women received seven of a possible 12 first-place votes for 135 points.

This year, Saint Joseph’s (Maine) will host the 2018 GNAC Cross Country Championships on campus in Standish, Maine on Saturday, October 27. The women’s race will get underway at 1:00 PM, followed by the men’s race at 2:00 PM. The GNAC will also release a pre-championship poll on Thursday, October 25 prior to the GNAC meet.

2018 GNAC Women’s Cross Country Preseason Poll

Place

Team

Points

1st Pl.

Norwich

135

Simmons

133

Regis

105

Emmanuel

102

Colby-Sawyer

Suffolk

Saint Joseph’s (ME)

Johnson & Wales

Saint Joseph (CT)

10.

Lasell

11.

Rivier

12.

Anna Maria

2018 GNAC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll