Iona College Selected as Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Preseason Favorites
EDISON, NJ – The defending champion Iona College Gaels were selected as the men’s and women’s cross country preseason favorites, according to a vote by the leagues’ 11 head coaches.
The Iona men’s team received a total of 120 points and 10 first-place votes. The Gaels have won 26 consecutive MAAC men’s cross country championships, the longest active conference title streak in NCAA Division I. At last year’s championship, Iona recorded its fourth-straight perfect score and Kieran Clements was the program’s 15th straight individual champion.
The Iona women’s team received a total 118 points and nine first-place votes. The Gaels have won 11 of the last 12 MAAC championship races. Iona’s narrow, two-point victory over Quinnipiac in 2016, made it the closest MAAC championship race since 2002.
Canisius College is tabbed second behind Iona on the men’s poll, with 98 points, while Manhattan College rounds out the top three with 96 points. Marist College was voted in fourth place with a total of 86 points and in fifth place is Siena College with 75 points. Monmouth University received 68 points, placing them in sixth, followed by Rider University in seventh and Quinnipiac in eighth, with 54 and 53 points, respectively. Fairfield University received 40 points, Niagara University finished with 23 points and Saint Peter’s University rounds out the preseason poll with 13 points.
On the women’s side, Quinnipiac claims second place in the preseason poll, totaling 108 points and one first-place vote. Marist placed third with 85 points. Canisius received 82 points placing them in fourth place while Manhattan comes in fifth place with 76 points. Monmouth finished in sixth place with 71 points. Siena received 65 points to come in seventh place. Rider comes in eighth place with 46 points. Fairfield placed ninth with 39 points, while Niagara sits at tenth place with 24 points. Saint Peters received 12 points to round out the list.
The 2018 MAAC Cross Country Championships take place on Saturday, October 28 and is hosted by Monmouth University at Holmdel Park in New Jersey.
| Men’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| 1. |
Iona (10) |
120 |
| 2. |
Canisius (1) |
98 |
| 3. |
Manhattan |
96 |
| 4. |
Marist |
86 |
| 5. |
Siena |
75 |
| 6. |
Monmouth |
68 |
| 7. |
Rider |
54 |
| 8. |
Quinnipiac |
53 |
| 9. |
Fairfield |
40 |
| 10. |
Niagara |
23 |
| 11. |
Saint Peter’s |
13 |
| Women’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| 1. |
Iona (9) |
118 |
| 2. |
Quinnipiac (1) |
108 |
| 3. |
Marist |
85 |
| 4. |
Canisius (1) |
82 |
| 5. |
Manhattan |
76 |
| 6. |
Monmouth |
71 |
| 7. |
Siena |
65 |
| 8. |
Rider |
46 |
| 9. |
Fairfield |
39 |
| 10. |
Niagara |
24 |
| 11. |
Saint Peter’s |
12 |
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 37th year of competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.