2017 PacWest Women’s Cross Country Poll
1.	California Baptist (14)	194
2.	Point Loma	170
3.	Academy of Art	155
4.	Azusa Pacific	148
4.	Biola	148
6.	Hawai’i Pacific	131
7.	Fresno Pacific	104
8.	Concordia	103
9.	Dixie State	99
10.	Holy Names	66
11.	Dominican	52
12.	Notre Dame de Namur	42
13.	Hawai’i Hilo	29
13.	Chaminade	29
First-place votes in parenthesis

IRVINE, Calif. – With 13 former All-PacWest selections on the roster for the 2017 campaign, California Baptist women’s cross country is the unanimous favorite to win a fourth-consecutive conference title.
 
With California Baptist as the heavy favorite for the team title, the PacWest promises to be extremely competitive on the individual level. All of the top-20 finishers at the 2016 PacWest Championships will be back in action this season.
 
The Lancers return defending champion sophomore Anett Somogyi and three-time All-PacWest selection Katie Deimling, who finished 39th in the 2016 National Championships. California Baptist also brings back Caroline Barkechir, who was the runner-up at the PacWest Championships in 2014 and 2015 before taking a redshirt last season.
 
The Lancers have Fruzi Ladanyi and Claire Rainey both back on the roster after earning first-team All-PacWest recognition last year. Former first-team selections Kim Rabenstein (2013) and Berenice Cleyet-Merle (2015) will add to the Lancers depth as they look to build on a ninth-place team finish at the national championships last year.
 
Point Loma was picked second by coaches after returning all five runners that scored in the PacWest Championships last year. PacWest Newcomer of the Year Hannah Benoit Bucher leads the group of returners after finishing runner-up at the conference meet. Junior Brianna Bartello finished in sixth place in the race last year for her second top-10 finish. The Sea Lions also bring back second-team all-conference honorees Marissa Bartello, Jordan Sienkiewicz and Alex Hernandez.
  The Sea Lions will be looking to build on their strong finish to the 2016 season where they led all PacWest teams with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA West Regional before taking 12th place at the National Championships. The Sea Lions are ranked No. 4 in the USTFCCCA West Regional preseason rankings behind California Baptist at No. 3.
 
Academy of Art is picked third in the coaches poll, returning a pair of top-20 finishers from last year. Senior McKaela Christenson, the 2014 PacWest Freshman of the Year, is a three-time All-PacWest selection, while Giulia McIsaac is looking to build on her third-team All-PacWest finish last year.
 
Azusa Pacific and Biola are tied for fourth place. The Eagles are in their first year of competition in the PacWest after winning the Golden State Athletic Conference title last year. Biola returns Emily Ransom and Hannah Hunsaker, who finished third and fourth, respectively, at the 2016 GSAC Championships.
 
For Azusa Pacific, senior Eileen Stressling is looking to put a capstone on her decorated career. The 2015 PacWest Champion repeated on the first team last year for her third All-PacWest honor in as many years. The Cougars also return Elise Larson and Taylor Hurlock, who each have earned all-conference honors in previous seasons.
 
Hawai`i Pacific is led by senior Kimberley Carter and is picked sixth in the preseason coaches poll. Carter finished in ninth place in the PacWest Championships last year. The Sharks are followed by Fresno Pacific in seventh place. The Sunbirds are led by Stefani Gaskell, who took 19th place in the PacWest Championships as a freshman last year.
 
Concordia is just a point behind Fresno Pacific in the preseason poll followed by Dixie State, which earned 99 points. Both teams finished inside the top 10 in the conference championship last year.
 
The 2017 season opens on Saturday with California Baptist competing at home in the CBU Invitational. Meanwhile, five PacWest teams will be in Belmont, Calif. for the PacWest Preview race. The PacWest Championships will be held on Oct. 21 hosted by Holy Names in Belmont. The NCAA West Regional will be hosted by Western Oregon on Nov. 4 with the NCAA Championships following two weeks later in Evansville, Ind.