Mizzou Cross Country Ranked in Top-Half of SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll
8/28/2017 3:01:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
Mizzou begins the 2017 campaign Sept. 2 in Wichita, Kan.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Both Mizzou Cross Country programs will start the season ranked in the top-half of the Southeastern Conference, as the league announced its Preseason Coaches' Poll on Monday. The women's team has been predicted to finish second in the conference, while the men's team was selected to finish sixth.
NEWS: #Mizzou Ranked in Top-Half of @SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll
— Mizzou Track & Field (@MIZ_TrackField) August 28, 2017
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Coaches from the SEC voted for the polls, with points awarded for the men's poll on a 1-11 basis and the women's poll on a 1-13 basis. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
The women's team checked in at No. 2 with 33 votes and one first-place vote. Only four-time defending conference champion Arkansas ranked ahead of the Tigers. Mizzou looks to build off a strong 2016 campaign that saw the team finish third at the SEC Championships, its highest conference finish since 2004. Mizzou would go on to capture a regional title at the NCAA Midwest Regional and qualify for the NCAA Championships as a team, both firsts since 2004. Individually, Mizzou returns its 1-2 punch of senior Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa) and senior Jamie Kempfer (Festus, Mo.) to the course this season. Both earned All-America honors a season ago at the NCAA Championships, while Schweizer became the first cross country National Champion in program history.
The men's team was ranked sixth in the preseason poll with 58 votes, checking in behind Arkansas, Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia and Kentucky, respectively. Mizzou finished sixth at the 2016 SEC Championships and returns top-five finishers redshirt senior Marc Dubrick (DeKalb, Ill.) and redshirt junior Zach Cook (Columbia, Mo.), as well as All-SEC Freshman Team performer redshirt sophomore Michael Widmann (Naperville, Ill.).
Both teams will begin the season at the JK Gold Invitational in Wichita, Kan., on Saturday, Sept. 2. The 2017 SEC Championships will take place Friday, Oct. 27, in Athens, Ga.
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MIZ_TrackField).
2017 SEC Cross Country Coaches' Preseason Poll (first-place votes)
Men
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | Arkansas (11) | 11 |
| 2 | Alabama (1) | 26 |
| 3 | Ole Miss | 29 |
| 4 | Georgia | 48 |
| 5 | Kentucky | 50 |
| 6 | Mizzou | 58 |
| 7 | Texas A&M | 76 |
| 8 | Florida | 85 |
| 9 | Auburn | 87 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 91 |
| 11 | LSU | 112 |
| 12 | Vanderbilt | 119 |
Women
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | Arkansas (13) | 13 |
| 2 | Mizzou (1) | 33 |
| 3 | Ole Miss | 37 |
| 4 | Mississippi State | 47 |
| 5 | Vanderbilt | 67 |
| 6 | Alabama | 83 |
| 7 | Kentucky | 85 |
| 8 | Florida | 96 |
| 9 | Georgia | 104 |
| 10 | Auburn | 118 |
| 11 | Texas A&M | 131 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 138 |
| T-13 | South Carolina | 161 |
| T-13 | LSU | 161 |
Players Mentioned
