Gophers Share Third Place with Crusaders in Preseason Poll
TOWSON, Md. — Five of the eight teams which will compete for the 2012 Landmark Conference title in the sport of women's cross country received first-place votes in the preseason poll which came out today.
Pair of First-Place Votes, 39 Points for Caslin's Squad
TOWSON, Md. — Five of the eight teams which will compete for the 2012 Landmark Conference title in the sport of women's cross country received first-place votes in the preseason poll which came out today.
Goucher, which placed second behind Moravian at last year's conference meet, picked up first-place votes from two of the participants in the poll. The remaining six first-place votes were distributed among four other schools: two for Moravian, two for Juniata and one apiece for Susquehanna and Scranton.
The Greyhounds came out of the poll as the favorites to repeat as Landmark champions in 2012 as they received a total of 49 points. The Eagles were a close second with 47 points, followed by the Gophers and Crusaders, tied for third with 39 points apiece.
The fifth spot in the poll went to the Royals (35 points). After that came Catholic (25) in sixth, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (13) in seventh and Drew (9) in eighth.
Goucher made a serious bid for its first Landmark Conference women's cross country title last year by placing four of its runners among the top 12 finishers in the conference meet. The top performer for head coach John Caslin's squad in the race was freshman Katherine Currier (Brooklyn, N.Y. / LaGuardia), who earned first-team All-Landmark recognition and was selected Rookie of the Year in the conference by placing fifth overall.
The Gophers open their 2012 campaign on Friday when they compete in the Baltimore Metro Meet, which returns this year to Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, Md.