Kemboi Tabbed A-Sun Preseason Runner of the Year as Upstate Men Top Poll; Spartan Women Picked Sixth
8/22/2012 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
MACON, Ga. – The USC Upstate men’s cross country team was picked to defend its Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, taking top honors in the 2012 A-Sun Preseason Coaches Poll, while the Spartan women were chosen to finish sixth as announced by the league today. Senior Gilbert Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya) was named the Atlantic Sun Preseason Runner of the Year on the men’s side.
Kemboi is the two-time defending A-Sun Cross Country Individual Champion, becoming the sixth A-Sun student-athlete to win back-to-back individual meet titles in 2011. He led the Spartan men last season to the program’s first A-Sun Team Championship crown, posting a score of 69 points to defeat two-time defending champion Kennesaw State. Kemboi went on to earn All-Southeast Region accolades, coming in 11th-place at the regionals with a time of 30:21.6 in the men’s 10K.
“The men’s team will be defending the A-Sun title and this year we can’t sneak up on anybody,” said Upstate associate head coach Carson Blackwelder. “Our guys are going to have to go out and put in the work over the next couple of months to defend that title and be ready for battle on Oct. 27.”
The Spartans collected five first-place votes and 93 total votes, edging KSU by one second-place vote as the Owls tallied 92. Kennesaw State also picked up five first-place votes. Lipscomb claimed third in the preseason list, earning 81 nods.
ETSU and North Florida rounded out the top five slots with 63 and 60 votes, respectively. Mercer took the sixth hole with 48 votes, while league newcomer Northern Kentucky came in seventh with 46. The No. 8 spot went to Florida Gulf Coast, totaling 37 nods. Stetson (19 votes) and Jacksonville (11 votes) closed out the poll.
On the women’s side, defending champion Lipscomb was the unanimous favorite, earning 10 first-place votes and 100 total. North Florida (90 votes) and Jacksonville (75 votes) claimed second and third, respectively, while Mercer (53 votes) and FGCU (49 votes) finished out the top five.
The Spartan women took the No. 6 slot, collecting 48 votes. Upstate will welcome seven athletes to the 2012 squad, after graduating the top three finishers at the 2011 A-Sun meet and coming in fourth in the team championship standings.
“We have a strong group of newcomers to the team and I am excited to see what we can do this season along with our upper-class women,” Blackwelder said. “We are defiantly looking to take home a top six spot at the A-Sun Championships.”
Northern Kentucky slipped into the No. 7 spot in the preseason poll, earning 45 votes, while ETSU took eighth with 41. Kennesaw State and Stetson rounded out the list, tallying 39 and 10 votes, respectively.
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Below are the 2012 Atlantic Sun Men's and Women's Cross Country Preseason Polls as voted on by the league's 10 head coaches.
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2012 Atlantic Sun Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
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| Rank | School (First Place Votes) | Votes |
| 1. | USC Upstate (5) | 93 |
| 2. | Kennesaw State (5) | 92 |
| 3. | Lipscomb | 81 |
| 4. | ETSU | 63 |
| 5. | North Florida | 60 |
| 6. | Mercer | 48 |
| 7. | Northern Kentucky | 46 |
| 8. | FGCU | 37 |
| 9. | Stetson | 19 |
| 10. | Jacksonville | 11 |
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2012 Atlantic Sun Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
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| Rank | School (First Place Votes) | Votes |
| 1. | Lipscomb (10) | 100 |
| 2. | North Florida | 90 |
| 3. | Jacksonville | 75 |
| 4. | Mercer | 53 |
| 5. | FGCU | 49 |
| 6. | USC Upstate | 48 |
| 7. | Northern Kentucky | 45 |
| 8. | ETSU | 41 |
| 9. | Kennesaw State | 39 |
| 10. | Stetson | 10 |
