Men's Cross Country | August 26, 2024
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The USCA men's cross country team has been selected sixth in the PBC Preseason Poll, as announced by the league office.
The poll was voted on by each of the league's head coaches, who were not allowed to vote on their own team.
Head coach
Marshall Leonard's team received 31 total points for sixth place. Augusta was selected first, garnering all eight first-place votes, with 64 points. Flagler (57 points) and Columbus State (45 points) rounded out the top three. GCSU (43 points) and Clayton State (33 points) were chosen ahead of the Pacers. Lander (22 points), USC Beaufort (19 points) and Georgia Southwestern (10 points) concluded the poll.
USCA is coming off a seventh-place finish at the 2023 PBC Championship. The 2024 squad returns
Riley Campbell,
Julian Mendoza,
Julio Rojas and
Tyler Blowe. Leonard added graduate transfer
David Cruz, junior
Luis Cruzado, sophomore
Evan McLeod and rookies
Jacobo Garcia-Rivera,
Zachary Haase and
Jase Wilson.
"Going into the off season we had some holes to fill, and I believe we did that with this recruiting class," Leonard said. "This season we will have six student-athletes that are all running around the same time, which helps our ability to run in a pack, which gives us the ability to score better. We have some upperclassmen that have experience, and some new freshmen that are talented and are hard workers. This preseason they have worked extremely hard and are eager for accomplish any task that I put in front of them. This is a great group of individuals, and it is a joy to be their coach."
The Pacers open the 2024 campaign at the Elon Night Invitational on Friday, Sept. 6.
Men's Cross Country
1. Augusta (8) 64
2. Flagler 57
3. Columbus State 45
4. GCSU 43
5. Clayton State 33
6. USC Aiken 31
7. Lander 22
8. USC Beaufort 19
9. Georgia Southwestern 10
