Women's Cross Country Picked Fourth in SoCon Coaches Preseason Poll
8/27/2010 2:18:50 PM | Women's Cross Country
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Returning a pair of All-SoCon runners in sophomore Natalie Atabek and senior Heather Conarroe, the Davidson Wildcats women's cross country team has been picked to finish fourth in the SoCon Cross Country Coaches Preseason Poll, as announced by the league office today.
Atabek, the team's top fnisher at every meet in her freshman season, finished ninth overall to lead the Wildcat women to a fifth-place finish at the 2009 SoCon championships in Elon last season, earning All-SoCon and All-Freshman honors along the way. She will once again be setting the pace for Davidson, who adds a talented incoming class to a roster already boasting strong senior leadership. Along with Conarroe, who finished 14th overall at the SoCon championships last season, classmate Lauren Childs, who finished 36th overall, is another talented runner and returning scorer from the championship meet season ago.
Entering her 11th season at the helm, head coach Jen Straub will need to get production out of both her proven veteran runners and her promising freshmen to be successful at the 2010 SoCon Championships, hosted this season by Appalachian State in Boone on Oct. 30.
“I am pleased that my colleagues thought so highly of us, and I am really excited about the potential of this upcoming season!” Straub said. “Our team is running really well right now. We return a lot of talent up front, and if we can get some production out of our promising incoming freshmen, I am excited to see what we can put together in Boone this season!”
The defending league champion Samford women were once again selected the preseason favorites, with nine first-place votes and 116 points overall. The Bulldogs return two of the top runners from the 2009 championship in seniors Hillary Neal and Ina Ables, who finished fourth and fifth overall, respectively, and were both named All-SoCon.
Elon, who finished second in the 2009 championship and return four runners who finished in the top 25, received two first-place votes and 110 total points to finish behind Samford in the voting. Appalachian State received the final first-place vote and took the third slot with 98 total points in the preseason balloting. The Mountaineers return three runners with top-25 finishes in the 2009 championship, including the most decorated runner from last season in Brittney Caudle, last season's SoCon individual champion, Runner of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Chattanooga, Furman, UNCG, Western Carolina, College of Charleston, Wofford, The Citadel and Georgia Southern round out the poll on the women's side.
Note: Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team in the preseason ballot.
2010 Cross Country Preseason Polls
Women
Team (#1 votes), Points
1. Samford (9), 116
2. Elon (2), 110
3. Appalachian State (1), 98
4. Davidson, 90
5. Chattanooga, 81
6. Furman, 79
T7. UNCG, 56
T7. Western Carolina, 56
9. College of Charleston, 42
10. Wofford, 30
11. The Citadel, 18
12. Georgia Southern, 16
Atabek, the team's top fnisher at every meet in her freshman season, finished ninth overall to lead the Wildcat women to a fifth-place finish at the 2009 SoCon championships in Elon last season, earning All-SoCon and All-Freshman honors along the way. She will once again be setting the pace for Davidson, who adds a talented incoming class to a roster already boasting strong senior leadership. Along with Conarroe, who finished 14th overall at the SoCon championships last season, classmate Lauren Childs, who finished 36th overall, is another talented runner and returning scorer from the championship meet season ago.
Entering her 11th season at the helm, head coach Jen Straub will need to get production out of both her proven veteran runners and her promising freshmen to be successful at the 2010 SoCon Championships, hosted this season by Appalachian State in Boone on Oct. 30.
“I am pleased that my colleagues thought so highly of us, and I am really excited about the potential of this upcoming season!” Straub said. “Our team is running really well right now. We return a lot of talent up front, and if we can get some production out of our promising incoming freshmen, I am excited to see what we can put together in Boone this season!”
The defending league champion Samford women were once again selected the preseason favorites, with nine first-place votes and 116 points overall. The Bulldogs return two of the top runners from the 2009 championship in seniors Hillary Neal and Ina Ables, who finished fourth and fifth overall, respectively, and were both named All-SoCon.
Elon, who finished second in the 2009 championship and return four runners who finished in the top 25, received two first-place votes and 110 total points to finish behind Samford in the voting. Appalachian State received the final first-place vote and took the third slot with 98 total points in the preseason balloting. The Mountaineers return three runners with top-25 finishes in the 2009 championship, including the most decorated runner from last season in Brittney Caudle, last season's SoCon individual champion, Runner of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Chattanooga, Furman, UNCG, Western Carolina, College of Charleston, Wofford, The Citadel and Georgia Southern round out the poll on the women's side.
Note: Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team in the preseason ballot.
2010 Cross Country Preseason Polls
Women
Team (#1 votes), Points
1. Samford (9), 116
2. Elon (2), 110
3. Appalachian State (1), 98
4. Davidson, 90
5. Chattanooga, 81
6. Furman, 79
T7. UNCG, 56
T7. Western Carolina, 56
9. College of Charleston, 42
10. Wofford, 30
11. The Citadel, 18
12. Georgia Southern, 16