Iona Tabbed as Preseason Favorites for Men's and Women's Cross Country
MAAC Sports
EDISON, NJ – Defending champion Iona College has been tabbed as the preseason favorite to win both the Men’s and Women’s 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Cross Country Championships, according to a vote of the league’s eleven head coaches. Both the men’s and women’s teams were voted first unanimously, earning 121 points.
In 2014, Iona’s men’s team won its 24th straight MAAC Cross Country Championship. For the eighth time in MAAC history and second consecutive year, the team won with a perfect score of 15. Then senior Jake Byrne won the individual title for Iona. The Gaels finished third overall at the 2014 NCAA Division I Northeast Regional with Byrne claiming the individual crown and finished eighth at the NCAA Championship.
In the men’s poll, Canisius College finished second tallying 109 points, followed by Quinnipiac University in third with 94 points. In fourth was Marist College with 82 points, while Rider University received 73 points and Monmouth University earned 68 points. Fairfield University received 53 points, edging Siena College which had 51 points, good for eighth. Manhattan College totaled 39 points for ninth, Niagara University picked up 23 points for tenth, and Saint Peter’s University rounded out the poll with 13 points.
Iona’s women’s team won the 2014 MAAC Cross Country Championship for the 10th consecutive season, with Kate Avery winning the individual crown for the second consecutive year. Avery also paced the Gaels to the NCAA Division I Northeast Region championship crown by coming in first place individually. Avery capped off the 2014 season by winning the NCAA Division I Cross Country National Championship and leading Iona to a ninth place finish at the championship.
Quinnipiac University placed second in the poll with 105 points, followed by Marist College in third registering 100 points. Monmouth University finished fourth with 79 points, and Rider University rounded out the top five by scoring 75 points. Canisius College’s 69 points were good for sixth, with Siena College receiving 56 for seventh edging Manhattan College’s 50 points. Closing out the poll were Fairfield University which received 35 points, followed by Niagara University with 23 points, and Saint Peter’s University with 13 points.
Men’s Preseason Coaches' Poll
|
1.
|
Iona
|
121
|
|
2.
|
Canisius
|
109
|
|
3.
|
Quinnipiac
|
94
|
|
4.
|
Marist
|
82
|
|
5.
|
Rider
|
73
|
|
6.
|
Monmouth
|
68
|
|
7.
|
Fairfield
|
53
|
|
8.
|
Siena
|
51
|
|
9.
|
Manhattan
|
39
|
|
10.
|
Niagara
|
23
|
|
11.
|
Saint Peter’s
|
13
|
Women’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll
|
1.
|
Iona
|
121
|
|
2.
|
Quinnipiac
|
105
|
|
3.
|
Marist
|
100
|
|
4.
|
Monmouth
|
79
|
|
5.
|
Rider
|
75
|
|
6.
|
Canisius
|
69
|
|
7.
|
Siena
|
56
|
|
8.
|
Manhattan
|
50
|
|
9.
|
Fairfield
|
35
|
|
10.
|
Niagara
|
23
|
|
11.
|
Saint Peter’s
|
13
|