2018 PacWest Men’s Cross Country Poll
1.	Biola (4)	90
2.	Academy of Art (5)	87
3.	Azusa Pacific (1)	80
4.	Fresno Pacific	68
5.	Concordia	59
6.	Hawai’i Pacific	39
7.	Holy Names	37
8.	Notre Dame de Namur	34
9.	Chaminade	28
9.	Dominican	28
First-place votes in parenthesis

IRVINE, Calif. – Biola edged Academy of Art as the PacWest Men’s Cross Country Preseason Favorite to win the PacWest title going into the 2018 season, which begins on Saturday.
 
Academy of Art led the voting in first-place votes with five, while Biola received four, but the Eagles earned more total points, 90-87. Last year in the PacWest Championships, Academy of Art finished one spot ahead of Biola in second place.
 
The Eagles are looking to build on their third-place finish in their first year in the PacWest. All of Biola’s top-3 runners finished consecutively in the conference race to earn All-PacWest honors, and all three runners are back for the 2018 season, Giovanni Orellana, Gabe Plendcio and Ryan Thompson. Biola will be looking to defend their 2017 NCCAA National Title in its final year of transition to the NCAA Division II.
 
Academy of Art returned two All-PacWest runners from last year’s team that took sixth place at the NCAA West Regional. Freddie Hessian had a top-10 finish at the PacWest Championships and Victor Moreau finished just two seconds later. The Urban Knights are looking for their first men’s cross country title since 2009 when they won the title for the second year in a row.
 
Azusa Pacific received one first-place vote after taking fourth place last year. The Cougars have a young roster with sophomore Nathaniel Tamminga being the top returner after finishing in 23rd place at the PacWest Championships. Azusa Pacific added five freshmen to join the roster that features only one junior and no seniors.
 
Fresno Pacific will host the PacWest Championships this year as the Sunbirds look for their first PacWest title. Chris Goertzen finished in 21st place at the 2017 PacWest Championships and is back on the Sunbird roster for his senior season. He is joined by Alex Torres and Adam Gonzalez, who both finished among the top-30 runners as well.
 
Concordia is picked fifth in the PacWest Preseason Poll after finishing in eighth place last year. The Eagles return all of their top-3 runners from the last PacWest Championships, who all finished within 10 seconds of each other in the top 40 overall, Tyler Arnold, Angel Aguirre and Hector Arteaga.
 
Hawai`i Pacific is picked to finish sixth followed by Holy Names and Notre Dame de Namur. Dominican and Chaminade are tied for ninth in the preseason poll that is voted on by PacWest coaches.
 
The season begins on Saturday with seven teams in action, including Dominican and Academy of Art at the USF Invitational and Hawai`i Pacific and Chaminade competing at the Big Wave Invitational. Four weeks before the PacWest Championships, five PacWest teams will compete in the Bronco Invitational on October 13. On November 17, the NCAA West Regional will be held in Billings, Montana, and the qualifying teams will advance to the NCAA National Championship in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 1.