Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Women Second, Men Third in 2004 MVC Preseason Poll
09/01/2004 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
Sept. 1, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Matt Sparks thinks his cross country teams have the ability to finish among the top-two in the Missouri Valley Conference this season. According to the league's preseason poll, the Salukis have nearly met those standards already.
The Southern Illinois University women were picked second and the men were tabbed third in this year's poll, voted on by the Valley's cross country coaches.
The SIU women, who tallied 87 points in the balloting, rank second behind Southwest Missouri State (100). The Bears are this year's unanimous favorite after garnering all 10 first-place votes.
Illinois State (74) and Indiana State (63) rank third and fourth, respectively, while Wichita State (60), Bradley (57), Northern Iowa (44), Creighton (27), Drake (22) and Evansville (16) follow.
On the men's side, UNI (84) tops the voting with six first-place tallies, while Drake is a close second with 74 points and three first-place nods. INS abstained from the 2004 poll, which eliminated the 10th first-place vote.
The Salukis, who placed fourth in the MVC Championship a year ago, are third with 68 points, while the Redbirds (58) and Bears (58) share the fourth-place spot.
The Sycamores (53), Shockers (45), Purple Aces (25), Braves (21) and Bluejays (9) round out the men's poll.
SIU opens its 2004 cross country season on Friday, Sept. 3. The Dawgs host the Saluki Open, one of three home meets on the year.
