ROCK HILL, S.C.—Picking up right where the club left off a year ago at the conclusion of the 2015 men's cross country season, Carson-Newman was picked to finish 10^th  again in the South Atlantic Conference for the 2016 season, the league announce earlier Wednesday morning in the preseason poll.

C-N racked up a total of 32 points in the voting process and finished in front of only two other teams in league as Tusculum placed 11^th and Newberry was voted last in 12^th-place. Leading the charge in the top-slot was Queens, followed by Mars Hill, Anderson, Wingate and Lincoln Memorial in positions two- five.

Catawba finished sixth in the preseason poll while Coker, Lenoir-Rhyne and Brevard closed tabs on seventh through ninth place—in front of C-N, Tusculum and Newberry who rounded out the bottom-three.

Coming off a SAC-record 13-consecutive championships, the Mars Hill Lions were dethroned last year in the 2015 SAC Championships in favor of Queens who picked up 11 first-place votes in the 2016 preseason poll. The Royals garnered 131 total points ahead of the field while Mars Hill tallied 111 votes, including one first-place nod.

The Trojans of Anderson, who finished in third-place, racked up 98 points in the voting process while Wingate and LMU followed closely with 87 and 81 points, respectively. Catawba claimed 67 votes for sixth overall and Coker compiled 58 total points for seventh-place. Following L-R's 50 votes in eighth-place, a drop-off occurred as Brevard was the next in line with only 35 votes for ninth in the standings.

C-N came in next at No. 10 with 32 votes while Tusculum and Newberry completed the poll in 11^th and 12^th-place with 27 and 12 votes, respectively.   

As with any new season, Carson-Newman first-year cross country coach Tyler Stepp will be looking for improvement from last year's campaign in which the Eagles finished in 10^th-place at the SAC Championships in late October.

"We are cerntainly trying to rebuild on the men's side. This season will be a huge recruiting season for us, as I got the job last season after the majority of high school cross country runners had already signed," Stepp said. "We feel great about the character of the men we have on the team and feel they are ready to rally around each other to make this season solid. We are also bringing in a couple of key additions that we feel like will add great value to the program.

"Overall, I'm looking forward to what this season holds," Stepp said. 

The Eagles will have two experienced runners to turn to as the season progresses as both Alec Bross (Charlotte, N.C.) and Nick Guerra (Richardson, Texas) are returning for their senior season in Mossy Creek. The duo have combined to compete in 46 meets during their first three years in the C-N program.     

Anthony Jackson (Manchester, Tenn.) will suit up for another year in Mossy Creek as the freshman finished second on the squad a season ago in three meets behind former C-N All-Southeast Region cross country runner Lachlan Dickie. Jackson's top-time in 2015 came at the SAC Championships where the first-year athlete ran a 28:13.3 time in the 10-kolimeter course.

Along with the two seniors and Jackson leading the way for the Eagles going into the new season, Luke Greer (Abington, United Kingdom) returns for his junior campaign.   

Carson-Newman is set to kick off the 2016 cross country season on Sept. 9 at the Tusculum Open. Stay tuned into cneagles.com for continual coverage of C-N cross country throughout the season.

Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll