Mizzou Men’s Cross Country Ranked Fifth, Women Sixth in SEC Preseason Poll
8/29/2016 3:29:00 PM | Cross Country
Both programs open the season on Friday at the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference announced its 2016 Men's and Women's Cross Country Coaches' Preseason Poll on Monday, with the Mizzou Men's team ranked T-No. 5 and the Women's team checking in at No. 6. Both teams will travel to Iowa City, Iowa, this Friday, Sept. 2, to open the 2016 campaign with the Hawkeye Invitational.
Coaches from the SEC voted for the polls, with points awarded for the men's poll on a 1-12 basis and the women's poll on a 1-13 basis. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
The men's program checked in at No. 5 with 67 votes, tied with Florida. Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Kentucky ranked ahead of the Tigers, respectively. Mizzou will return numerous contributors from last year's team which finished sixth at the 2016 SEC Championships, including its top-two performers at that meet. Redshirt junior Sheldon Keence (St. Charles, Mo.), who finished 22nd, and redshirt junior Marc Dubrick (DeKalb, Ill.), who finished 24th, both return for 2016.
The women's program will begin the season ranked sixth behind Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Florida and Ole Miss, respectively. Junior Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Fla.), who earned All-SEC honors a season ago after finishing 14th at the 2015 SEC Championships, highlights the women's returnees. As a team, Mizzou finished eighth at the SEC Championships a year ago.
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MIZ_TrackField).
2016 SEC Cross Country Coaches' Preseason Poll (first-place votes)
Men
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | Arkansas (10) | 14 |
| 2 | Ole Miss (13) | 21 |
| 3 | Texas A&M | 36 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 49 |
| T5 | Florida | 67 |
| T5 | Mizzou | 67 |
| 7 | Alabama | 79 |
| T8 | Auburn | 86 |
| T8 | Georgia | 86 |
| 10 | Mississippi State | 115 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 118 |
| 12 | LSU | 134 |
| 13 | Vanderbilt | 142 |
Women
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | Arkansas (13) | 13 |
| 2 | Vanderbilt (1) | 35 |
| T3 | Mississippi State | 46 |
| T3 | Florida | 51 |
| 5 | Ole Miss | 64 |
| 6 | Mizzou | 66 |
| 7 | Alabama | 89 |
| 8 | Texas A&M | 100 |
| 9 | Auburn | 101 |
| 10 | Kentucky | 112 |
| 11 | Georgia | 134 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 143 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 151 |
| 14 | LSU | 169 |
