RICHARDSON, Texas- The Lone Star Conference announced its annual Men's and Women's Cross Country Preseason Polls as voted upon by coaches and representatives across the league Thursday afternoon. The women's program was slated to finish tied for 8th, while the men's team was projected to finish 12th among conference opponents. Both programs will be running for the first time since 2019, after missing the 2020 campaign due to COVID-19 restrictions.
At the top of the women's poll, 2020 LSC Champion Dallas Baptist University collected 612 points and 31 first place votes. Following the Lady Patriots, West Texas A&M and St. Edward's placed second and third with 586 and 508 points respectively.
West Texas A&M took the top spot for the men's poll with 536 points and 34 first place votes, after winning the 2020 LSC Championship. Behind the Buffaloes, Oklahoma Christian (457 points) and UT Tyler (439 points) rounded out the top three.
Returning for the Greyhounds on the women's side are standout performers
Aminata Kenyawani and
Neri Getraide. Kenyawani won Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year after a sixth place finish with a time of 23:01.54. Getraide also provided a top-20 finish at the conference championships, after a time of 23:49.54 for 17th.
Jon Fuentes is the top returner for the men's team, with a time of 28:39.50 at the 2019 LSC Championship.
In 2019, the women's cross country team produced a third-place finish at the LSC Championships. The Hounds also finished fourth of eight teams at the Buffalo Stampede and captured a fourth place finish out of 13 teams at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open. The women's program concluded its season with a top half finish at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional, posting a finish of 13th out of 29 teams.
The men's program also had standout performances in 2019. The season started out with a sixth place finish out of 10 teams at the Buffalo Stampede, followed by a fifth-place finish at New Mexico Junior College Invitational. The men's team wrapped up it's season with a 13th place finish at the LSC Championships.
This year the Greyhounds have four tune-up meets before taking on the 2021 Lone Star Conference Championship on Oct. 23 in Lawton, Okla. ENMU opens the season at the Texas Tech Open in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday, Sept. 4. The men will start at 7:00 a.m., followed by the women's team at 7:40 a.m.
2021 Lone Star Conference Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
| Rank |
School |
1st Place Votes |
Total Points |
| 1 |
DBU |
31 |
612 |
| 2 |
West Texas A&M |
7 |
586 |
| 3 |
St. Edward's |
|
508 |
| 4 |
Midwestern State |
|
474 |
| 5 |
Texas A&M International |
|
429 |
| 6 |
Lubbock Christian |
1 |
380 |
| 7 |
Western New Mexico |
|
358 |
| T-8 |
Eastern New Mexico |
|
341 |
| T-8 |
Oklahoma Christian |
|
341 |
| 10 |
UT Tyler |
|
313 |
| 11 |
UAFS |
|
193 |
| 12 |
UT Permian Basin |
|
184 |
| 13 |
Cameron |
|
172 |
| 14 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
|
145 |
| 15 |
Angelo State |
|
135 |
| 16 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
|
133 |
2021 Lone Star Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
| Rank |
School |
1st Place Votes |
Total Points |
| 1 |
West Texas A&M |
34 |
536 |
| 2 |
Oklahoma Christian |
7 |
457 |
| 3 |
UT Tyler |
|
439 |
| 4 |
DBU |
1 |
405 |
| 5 |
Western New Mexico |
|
361 |
| 6 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
1 |
360 |
| 7 |
Cameron |
|
322 |
| 8 |
Lubbock Christian |
|
274 |
| 9 |
Texas A&M International |
|
256 |
| 10 |
St. Edward's |
|
252 |
| 11 |
UT Permian Basin |
|
173 |
| 12 |
Eastern New Mexico |
|
171 |
| 13 |
Angelo State |
|
141 |
| 14 |
UAFS |
|
102 |
| 15 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
|
71 |
