| 2017 PacWest Men’s Cross Country Poll |
| 1. |
California Baptist (12) |
144 |
| 2. |
Academy of Art |
130 |
| 3. |
Azusa Pacific |
110 |
| 4. |
Biola |
104 |
| 5. |
Fresno Pacific |
98 |
| 6. |
Holy Names |
89 |
| 7. |
Dixie State |
62 |
| 8. |
Concordia |
60 |
| 9. |
Hawai’i Pacific |
59 |
| 10. |
Notre Dame de Namur |
30 |
| 11. |
Dominican |
29 |
| 12. |
Chaminade |
21 |
| First-place votes in parenthesis |
IRVINE, Calif. – California Baptist was the unanimous choice of the PacWest coaches as the favorite for the 2017 men’s cross country season, as the Lancers look for a seventh-consecutive conference title.
The Lancers, who are No. 4 in the West Region in the USTFCCCA preseason poll, return five runners who finished in the top 10 at the 2016 PacWest Championships. The Lancers lost
Valentin Robert to graduation, but the depth that led CBU to the conference title remains.
As sophomores last season,
Ken Kipkorir,
Dennis Messmer and
Jayden Emerson each earned first-team All-PacWest recognition. Along with
William Ernst and
Anthony Lozano, Kipkorir and Emerson all finished inside the top 40 at the NCAA West Regional to lead the Lancers to a fifth-place finish to qualify for the national championships, where they took 15th.
Academy of Art is picked second in the preseason poll and has the top returning finisher from the 2016 PacWest Championships in
Gatien Airiau, who took third place at the event. Airiau went on to take 14th place at the NCAA West Regional, which was the second-best finish among PacWest athletes, trailing only his since graduated teammate
Pierre Fontanarosa.
The Urban Knights took fourth place as a team in the regional and went on to lead PacWest teams in the national championships with an 11th-place finish in Saint Leo, Fla. PacWest Freshman of the Year
Marvin Thomas is also back on the roster for Academy of Art after he earned third team All-PacWest honors last season.
Azusa Pacific is picked third in the preseason poll, and the Cougars bring back both of their all-conference honorees from last season.
Jeremy Porter finished in fourth place in the conference last year for third-consecutive All-PacWest recognition and his second in a row on the first team.
Cody Drisko is also a three-time All-PacWest selection, including first-team honors in 2015 after taking fifth place.
In its first year competing in the PacWest, Biola is picked fourth in the preseason poll. The Eagles took third place in the Golden State Athletic Conference Championships last year and brings back all of its top six finishers.
Gabe Plendcio led the Eagles in the GSAC championships last year with a fourth-place finish, while
Ryan Thompson and
Miles Brubacher joined him in the top 10.
Fresno Pacific is picked fifth and returns both of its 2016 All-PacWest honorees.
Chris Goertzen and
Alex Torres each earned third-team honors last year and the Sunbirds went on to take 15th place in the regional tournament, which was third among PacWest teams.
Holy Names brings back Second Team All-PacWest selection
Arthur Ruvalcaba and is picked sixth in the preseason poll. The Hawks are followed by Dixie State and then Concordia, which is eighth in the poll. Hawai’i Pacific and Notre Dame de Namur wrap up the top 10.
California Baptist will get the season started with the CBU Invitational on Friday before five PacWest teams compete in the PacWest Preview on Saturday in Belmont, Calif. The PacWest Championships will be held on Oct. 21. The NCAA West Regional will be held in Monmouth, Ore. on Nov. 4 with the NCAA Championships taking place two weeks later.