Men’s Cross Country picked to win league title

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Mars Hill, which has won 14-consecutive Food Lion South Atlantic Conference men's cross country championships, was chosen by league coaches as the 2011 favorite, it was announced on Wednesday.

The Lions received seven first-place votes, followed by No. 2 Anderson, which received the other three.

The Lions' Justin Gragg was named to the preseason All-Conference first team, while Eric Blackburn was voted to the second team.

Anderson leads the league with four student-athletes on the preseason All-Conference team, also released on Wednesday.

In total, nine of the preseason All-SAC selections - and the entire first team -- were named all-conference in 2010 as well,. The list includes Gragg, whose second-place individual finish in the 2010 SAC Championship is the highest of any returning student-athlete.

Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team Points (1st-Place)
1. Mars Hill 93 (7)
2. Anderson 89 (3)
3. Lenoir-Rhyne 77
3. Wingate 77
5. Catawba 55
6. Brevard 49
7. Lincoln Memorial 47
8. Carson-Newman 26
9. Tusculum 25
10. Newberry 12

Men's Cross Country Preseason All-SAC Team
First Team
Christian Crifasi, Catawba
Jakob Maidens, Lenoir-Rhyne
Derrick Lindsay, Lincoln Memorial
Justin Gragg, Mars Hill
Binyam Belachew, Wingate
Steve Hammond, Wingate
Andrew Smith, Wingate

Second Team
Parks Edwards, Anderson
Deniz Hay, Anderson
Kyle Koby, Anderson
Alex Pena, Anderson
Zack Queen, Lenoir-Rhyne
Mike Ryan, Lenoir-Rhyne
Eric Blackburn, Mars Hill