BYU men picked first in preseason coaches poll

BYU men’s cross country has been picked as the preseason favorite in the West Coast Conference as announced with the release of the preseason coaches poll Wednesday.

“I think the results of the poll just indicate what everyone in the conference knows, and that is Portland has a strong team and we have a strong team,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “Being ranked No. 1 is a compliment, but polls are just guesswork a lot of times. We still have to deliver. Whether we were first or second, we know it will be a dogfight up front.”

The Cougars (61 pts) received five of the nine first place votes and edged second-place Portland (60) by just a single point. The Pilots received the other four first place votes.

BYU placed four runners on the preseason All-WCC team led by All-American Tylor Thatcher who finished fourth in last year's WCC Championships. Jason Witt, Conner Peloquin and Steve Flint also represented the Cougars, all finishing in the top-12 in the conference last year.

The Cougars will begin their season on Sept. 6 at the Utah Open hosted by the University of Utah in Salt Lake City at Murray City Park.