CAMBRIDGE, Mass. ?The defending champion University of New Hampshire is the preseason favorite for the second year in a row to win the 2007 America East Men’s Cross Country Championship as voted on by the league’s nine head coaches. With four first-place votes and 60 points, the Wildcats narrowly beat out Stony Brook University (three first-place votes, 59 points) and Boston University (two, 50) for the top billing. Click here for complete poll.
University of Maine (43 points) finished fourth in the poll, while UMBC (32) rounds out the top five. University of Vermont (30), Binghamton University (22), University at Albany (19) and University of Hartford (9) fill out the nine-team poll.
All nine schools will compete at the 2007 America East Men’s Cross Country Championship hosted by Stony Brook on October 27.
New Hampshire placed five runners in the top 20 to take home the 2006 America East Championship, and four of those runners return in 2007. Jordan Horwitz, one of seven seniors on this year’s squad, finished second overall in the conference championship.
The Seawolves’ close second-place finish to the Wildcats in last year’s championship meet helped them earn the two-spot in the preseason poll. Senior Brian Farrell vaulted into the league’s elite last year, finishing third in the league championship and 14th at the Northeast Championships.
The Terriers’ top finisher at the America East Championship, senior Nick Goodman, finished fourth. Goodman and sophomore Eric Ashe, a 14th-place finisher, hope to improve upon Boston U.’s 2006 fourth-place finish.
Maine graduated its top two runners, two-time America East Cross Country individual champion Kirby Davis and Joshua Trevino, but still return two top-20 finishers from last year’s league championship. The Black Bears aim to win their first America East Championship since 2004.
UMBC junior Anthony Kelhower, a ninth-place finisher in last year’s league championship, guided the Retrievers to a sixth-place finish. This young UMBC team has just three juniors and four incoming freshmen.
With a fifth-place finish in the America East Cross Country Championship, Vermont secured its best finish in four years. Senior Sean Steinhagen is the Catamounts’ top returning finisher, crossing the finish line tied for 19th in 2006.
The Bearcats hope to top an eighth-place finish in last year’s league championship. The future looks bright as sophomore Chris Gaube finished 28th in the conference as a rookie last season to set the pace for the rest of the Binghamton runners.
Albany placed seventh a year ago when they were led by then-junior Ricardo Estremera’s seventh-place finish. Albany will look to a couple of potential stars to step up behind Estremera before this year’s race.
The Hawks welcome five newcomers who hope to make a significant impact in 2007.