No. 23 Virginia Men Picked Fourth, Women Picked Ninth in ACC Preseason Coaches’ Poll

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 23 Virginia men’s cross country team was picked to finish fourth in the ACC while the women’s team was selected to finish ninth according to the league’s release of the preseason coaches’ poll on Thursday (Aug. 29).
 
The men’s team returns four of last year’s five scoring runners from the ACC Championships, including All-ACC honorees redshirt senior Ari Klau (West Hartford, Conn.) and senior Randy Neish (Glastonbury). The team captured a fourth-place finish, scoring 128 points, with senior AJ Ernst (Marblehead, Mass), redshirt senior Alex Corbett (Burke, Va.) and recent graduate Brent Demarest (Charleston, S.C.), who placed fourth and earned his third All-ACC honor, rounding out the team’s scoring runners. The men’s team went on to finish third at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships.
 
The men’s team enters the year ranked 23rd according the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll, released earlier this week. The team was also ranked second in the southeast region.  
 
The women’s cross country team will look to improve its ninth-place finish from last season. Sophomore Abbey Green (Bethesda, Md.) led the team throughout the year, earning All-ACC honors with a ninth-place finish. Green also earned All-Southeast Region honors and qualified as an individual for the NCAA Championships after placing seventh at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships. She placed 95th at the NCAA Championships
 
Virginia will open the 2019 season at the Liberty Challenge in Lynchburg, Va., on Friday (Aug. 30).