Allegheny is team to beat at NCAC Cross Country Championships
10/29/2009 3:51:31 PM
The Allegheny men's cross country team was unanimously rated the top squad in the North Coast Athletic Conference preseason poll and has maintained that record for the entire season. When the latest pre-NCAC Championship vote results were released, the Gators were once again unanimous favorites to claim their sixth consecutive conference title.
Allegheny, which is also ranked first in the Mideast Region, will enter the NCAC Championship meet with the No. 6 rating in NCAA Division III.
In their three-race season, the Gators have been led by Chris Marker, who placed third at Calvin's Knight Invitational, 65th at Lehigh's Paul Short Run and then won the Inter-Regional Rumble at Oberlin. He, Jeramie Parker, Zac Ross and Tony Dipre have scored in all three events. Jake Zimmerman has scored twice and Ryan Hanson has contributed once.
Parker was the runner-up to Marker at Oberlin while Dipre took fifth during the team's second-place Inter-Regional showing. At Calvin, Parker was seventh and Ross placed ninth, helping the Gators claim the team championship.
The NCAC Championship meet will be held Saturday at Ohio Wesleyan. The last time Allegheny did not place first, Kenyon won the 2003 title while the Gators placed second.