Falcons Voted Preseason Favorite to Repeat as MASCAC Men’s Cross Country Champions
Fitchburg State garner top slot with a total of 33 points
FITCHBURG, Mass. – For the third straight season, the Fitchburg State Men's Cross Country team was selected the preseason favorite to the claim the 2018 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) title in a vote by the conference's seven head coaches as announced by the league office on Friday afternoon.
The Falcons grabbed three of the seven first place ballots to amass a total of 32 points to outdistance Bridgewater State's second place total of 31 points, which included three first place votes.
Westfield State followed in third with 29 points, while Worcester State landed in the fourth slot with 21 points. Tied for fifth were Framingham State and Mass. Maritime with 12 points each, while MCLA closed out this year's MASCAC Men's Cross Country preseason poll in seventh with a total of nine points.
The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, the nation's oldest Division III men's and women's playing conference, has a rich and storied tradition of competitive success while celebrating excellence in the classroom. MASCAC member schools include Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, MCLA, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Salem State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University. Two other institutions, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Plymouth State University, are affiliate members of the conference in the sports of football and men's ice hockey, while Western Connecticut State University joined the conference as an affiliate member in football in 2013-14.
The Fitchburg State men's cross country team opens it's 2018 season on Saturday, September, 1st as they host its annual Jim Sheehan Alumni Invitational Meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster.
PORTIONS OF RELEASE COURTESY OF THE MASCAC SID OFFICE
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2018 Men's Cross Country Pre-Season Coaches Poll |
|
|
School |
Points |
|
1. Fitchburg State (3) |
32 |
|
2. Bridgewater State (3) |
31 |
|
3. Westfield State (1) |
29 |
|
4. Worcester State |
21 |
|
5. Framingham State |
12 |
|
Mass. Maritime |
12 |
|
7. MCLA |
9 |