The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Men Picked to Win, Women Second in SEC Cross Country Preseason Poll
8/26/2019 | Cross Country
Ole Miss Men Coming Off First SEC Title in Program History in 2018
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After a historic 2018 season for both the Ole Miss men's and women's cross country teams, both Rebel squads are primed for success yet again after the men were picked to win and the women to finish second in the 2019 SEC Preseason Poll released on Monday.
Ole Miss received seven first-place votes in the men's poll ahead of second-place Alabama's five votes, while the Rebel women received one vote behind 13 given to six-time defending champions, Arkansas.
The Rebel men, fresh off the first SEC title in program history last fall, return all but one scorer from that conference team in 2018 (Mark Robertson), returning All-American junior Waleed Suliman, SEC Freshman of the Year Cade Bethmann, as well as NCAA All-South Region contributors in senior Farah Abdulkarim, sophomore Mario Garcia Romo and junior Ben Savino.
Ole Miss snapped Arkansas' streak of eight consecutive SEC men's titles last fall, defeating the Razorbacks, 36-44, to make the Rebels the first team not named Arkansas or Alabama to win an SEC men's title since Tennessee did so in 1990.
The Ole Miss women, meanwhile, are coming off the highest finish at the NCAA Championships in their history after a 22nd-place finish at the national meet in 2018. After having never qualified for the NCAA meet prior to 2016, the Rebel women have now qualified every year since – winning the 2017 NCAA South Region title in the process. Ole Miss has also finished at least third at the conference meet each year in that span after having never finished that high prior, topping out with a program record second-place finish in 2016.
The Rebels return all seven members of that NCAA team, including their top finisher in junior Clio Ozanne-Jaques, who recorded the second-highest individual finish in Rebel women's history last year in 65th place. Other key contributors returning in 2019 include All-Region runners Lisa Vogelgesang, Maddie King and Ylvi Traxler.
In addition to the SEC Preseason Poll released on Monday, Ole Miss was also ranked as the No. 1 team in the NCAA South Region on both the men's and women's side of competition as part of the USTFCCCA's first regional rankings of 2019. The USTFCCCA will release its preseason national rankings on Tuesday.
Associate head cross country coach Ryan Vanhoy – the reigning SEC and USTFCCCA South Region Men's Coach of the Year – returns for his seventh season with the cross country teams at Ole Miss.
Ole Miss opens the 2019 season this coming Saturday (August 31) at the Memphis Twilight, which will be held at Christian Brothers University at 9:20 p.m. CT.
SEC Men's Preseason Poll
1. Ole Miss (7) – 15
2. Alabama (5) – 20
3. Arkansas – 28
4. Florida – 58
4. Kentucky – 58
6. Missouri – 60
7. Texas A&M – 64
8. Tennessee – 70
9. Georgia – 87
10. Auburn – 100
11. Vanderbilt – 114
12. LSU – 118
SEC Women's Preseason Poll
1. Arkansas (13) – 13
2. Ole Miss (1) – 32
3. Florida – 37
4. Georgia – 55
5. Missouri – 63
6. Vanderbilt – 84
7. Alabama – 91
8. Kentucky – 107
8. Texas A&M – 107
10. Tennessee – 115
11. Auburn – 117
12. Mississippi State – 136
13. South Carolina – 158
14. LSU – 159
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
Ole Miss received seven first-place votes in the men's poll ahead of second-place Alabama's five votes, while the Rebel women received one vote behind 13 given to six-time defending champions, Arkansas.
The Rebel men, fresh off the first SEC title in program history last fall, return all but one scorer from that conference team in 2018 (Mark Robertson), returning All-American junior Waleed Suliman, SEC Freshman of the Year Cade Bethmann, as well as NCAA All-South Region contributors in senior Farah Abdulkarim, sophomore Mario Garcia Romo and junior Ben Savino.
Ole Miss snapped Arkansas' streak of eight consecutive SEC men's titles last fall, defeating the Razorbacks, 36-44, to make the Rebels the first team not named Arkansas or Alabama to win an SEC men's title since Tennessee did so in 1990.
The Ole Miss women, meanwhile, are coming off the highest finish at the NCAA Championships in their history after a 22nd-place finish at the national meet in 2018. After having never qualified for the NCAA meet prior to 2016, the Rebel women have now qualified every year since – winning the 2017 NCAA South Region title in the process. Ole Miss has also finished at least third at the conference meet each year in that span after having never finished that high prior, topping out with a program record second-place finish in 2016.
The Rebels return all seven members of that NCAA team, including their top finisher in junior Clio Ozanne-Jaques, who recorded the second-highest individual finish in Rebel women's history last year in 65th place. Other key contributors returning in 2019 include All-Region runners Lisa Vogelgesang, Maddie King and Ylvi Traxler.
In addition to the SEC Preseason Poll released on Monday, Ole Miss was also ranked as the No. 1 team in the NCAA South Region on both the men's and women's side of competition as part of the USTFCCCA's first regional rankings of 2019. The USTFCCCA will release its preseason national rankings on Tuesday.
Associate head cross country coach Ryan Vanhoy – the reigning SEC and USTFCCCA South Region Men's Coach of the Year – returns for his seventh season with the cross country teams at Ole Miss.
Ole Miss opens the 2019 season this coming Saturday (August 31) at the Memphis Twilight, which will be held at Christian Brothers University at 9:20 p.m. CT.
SEC Men's Preseason Poll
1. Ole Miss (7) – 15
2. Alabama (5) – 20
3. Arkansas – 28
4. Florida – 58
4. Kentucky – 58
6. Missouri – 60
7. Texas A&M – 64
8. Tennessee – 70
9. Georgia – 87
10. Auburn – 100
11. Vanderbilt – 114
12. LSU – 118
SEC Women's Preseason Poll
1. Arkansas (13) – 13
2. Ole Miss (1) – 32
3. Florida – 37
4. Georgia – 55
5. Missouri – 63
6. Vanderbilt – 84
7. Alabama – 91
8. Kentucky – 107
8. Texas A&M – 107
10. Tennessee – 115
11. Auburn – 117
12. Mississippi State – 136
13. South Carolina – 158
14. LSU – 159
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
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