Pacers Tabbed Ninth in Preseason PBC Cross Country Poll
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken cross country team was tabbed ninth in the 2011 Peach Belt Conference preseason women’s cross country poll as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
The preseason poll was released on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011 by the Peach Belt Conference office.
The Pacers captured a total of 25 votes to tie them with Francis Marion for seventh in the preseason tally.
The USC Aiken cross country team begins its first season under new head coach Kara Kreutzer in the 2011 season. Kreutzer’s first squad will feature two returners, including 2010 Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Keely Gillespie.
The 2011 USC Aiken schedule features seven meets in total. The Pacers will play host to two meets at their top-of-the-line home course, Pacer Path, including the 2011 Peach Belt Conference Championship on Saturday, Oct. 22.
USC Aiken will commence its 2011 season on Friday, Sept. 2 at the 5K Gamecock Invitational at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C. The meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The Pacers concluded the 2010 Gamecock Invitational second among all Division II teams.
The Pacers will then move on to the 4K Erskine Invitational on Friday, Sept. 9 in Due West, S.C. The meet is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. USC Aiken last appeared in the Erskine Invitational in 2009, finishing fifth.
USC Aiken will host the Second Annual Bridgestone-Pacer Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 17. The Bridgestone-Pacer Invitational will serve as the pre-conference race for the 2011 Peach Belt Conference Cross Country Championship, and it will feature both men’s and women’s participants. The 6K women’s portion of the meet is slated to begin at 9:45 a.m. USC Aiken finished second as a team at the inaugural Bridgestone-Pacer Invitational at Pacer Path in 2010.
The Pacers will close out the first month of its season on Friday, Sept. 30 at the Charlotte Invite in Charlotte, N.C. The 5K meet is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
After two weeks off, USC Aiken will run in the ASU Invite at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga. on Saturday, Oct. 8. The 6K women’s portion of Augusta State’s annual meet is set for 8 a.m.
USC Aiken will then have two weeks to prepare for the 2011 Peach Belt Conference Championship at the Pacer Path. The 6K PBC Women’s Championship is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
The Pacers will vie for their first ever spot in the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship by competing in the 6K NCAA Division II Southeast Regional in Charlotte, N.C. on Saturday, Nov. 5.
Augusta State was selected as the preseason favorite in the Peach Belt Conference. Columbus State was picked second followed by Clayton State.
The full coaches’ poll is listed below. Teams were given nine points for a first-place vote, eight for a second, etc. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams.
2011 Peach Belt Conference Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
- Augusta State 72
- Columbus State 63
- Clayton State 59
- UNC Pembroke 54
- Georgia College 48
- Montevallo 40
- Flagler 35
- Georgia Southwestern 29
- USC Aiken 25; Francis Marion 25
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