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AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Augusta University men's cross country team has been favored to repeat their 2017 Peach Belt Conference men's cross country championship in a poll of the league's head coaches released on Wednesday. Augusta was voted first in the 2018 PBC preseason poll.
The Jaguars received five first-place votes and 47 total points, five ahead of UNC Pembroke. Columbus State, Flagler and Georgia College are all tied for third place with 32 points while Clayton State, Lander and Francis Marion round out the voting.
Augusta has finished no worse than fourth in the PBC Championship over the past seven years, winning the title three times. AU also finished third at the NCAA Regionals and advanced to the national finals for the second time ever in 2017. For 2018, Augusta will feature a different look with nine freshmen on the roster. Senior Noah Hulett returns after finishing eighth in the PBC last year along with All-Conference sophomores Hunter Kimball and Jacob Poston.
The 2018 season officially begins Friday, Aug. 31, with six teams in action. The Jaguars start their slate on Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Bulldog Invitational, hosted the University of Georgia, in Athens, Ga.
The 2018 PBC Championships will be held Nov. 3 at Redcliffe Plantation in Beech Island, S.C., and hosted by Augusta University.
The coaches poll is listed below with first-place votes in parentheses. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams.
View the full press release from the PBC by clicking here
2018 Peach Belt Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
|
1. |
Augusta (5) |
47 |
|
2. |
UNC Pembroke (2) |
42 |
|
3. |
Columbus State |
32 |
|
4. |
Flagler (1) |
32 |
|
5. |
Georgia College |
32 |
|
6. |
Clayton State |
19 |
|
7. |
Lander |
11 |
|
8. |
Francis Marion |
9 |
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