ST. LOUIS - The Indiana State men's and women's cross country team have each been tabbed to finish third at the MVC Cross Country Championships, the Valley announced Thursday morning. The MVC preseason polls are determined by a vote of the league's head cross country coaches.
 
"I really like our schedule for the fall," associate head coach for cross country Kyle Walsh said. "We kept it similar to the way it's been historically with Pre-Nationals and Notre Dame Invitational as our mid-season large meets to see where we stack up before the conference championships. We are opening up at a low-key met against Miami and IU so that'll be a fun opener for us to go up against some big time programs. Then we get to host our own John McNichols Invitational and we love racing at home and having a chance to get out on the historic course. We host the NCAA Regional again for the season finale to see if we can get any individuals to the national championships. I think we are set up for a good fall with both the men and women being picked third in the conference. Last year the men finished second and the women took fourth and I think we can build off of that."
 
The men gathered 60 points in the preseason poll and were picked to finish third overall. Bradley collected all nine first place votes and are first with 81 points while Illinois State is second with 67 points. The Sycamores were ahead of Loyola, Drake, Southern Illinois, UNI, Valparaiso and Evansville in the conference predictions. Indiana State will return three All-MVC runners in Quentin Pierce who finished eighth, Blake Kramer who finished ninth and Akis Medrano who placed 10th.
 
"I know the Bradley men are very tough and bring in a lot of strong athletes, but we're going to focus more on ourselves and be the best that we can be on that given day, and then anything can happen. The conference is pretty wide open from second place back so it'll be fun to see all the teams fighting for positions. Individually, Akis is coming off of his 10K championship during the outdoor season and is looking to build off of that into cross country. There's a handful of guys who have won conference championships during track and in cross country who will all be battling in October, and he'll be one of the guys in the mix. Quentin Pierce is coming off of an All-Missouri Valley performance last fall and we're excited to get him back out there. Ryan Cash and Cam Trout both scored for us at the outdoor track championships and will be big contributors on the men's side," Walsh said.
 
The women's team was also picked to finish third with 74 points behind Loyola and Bradley. Loyola amassed 88 points and one first place vote to take second place and Bradley took nine first place points with 99 total points for first. The Sycamores were picked in front of UNI, Illinois State, Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Drake, Valparaiso and Evansville in the conference pecking order. After redshirting last season, Indiana State will have redshirt junior Brooke Moore back in their lineup alongside Jessi Conley, Megan Doty, Abigail Grider, Cami Hansen, Colleen Madden, Michaela Ward and Alli Workman.
 
"On the women's side, I don't know if there's a clear front-runner. Getting in the top-three is something we've wanted to do for several years in a row and haven't been able to do, but we think this is the year. The combination of leadership and experience up at the front along with some really good young athletes coming in give us a good mix. Brooke Moore redshirted last year and will be returning for her redshirt junior year this fall.  She's getting back on track after finishing runner-up in the 1500 during the outdoor season. We also return several scorers and big time contributors in Jessi Conley who came back for her fifth year, Megan Doty who is returning for her senior year and Alli Workman. Those four up front for us will be a strong foundation and we will fill it in behind them with some really good talent as well," Walsh said.
 
The MVC Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday, October 27 in Peoria, Ill. It will be second-time in league history that the MVC Cross Country Championship will be aired on The Valley on ESPN.
 
Men's Preseason Poll:
1. Bradley - 81 (9)
2. Illinois State - 67
3. Indiana State - 60
4. Loyola - 51
5. Drake - 49
6. Southern Illinois - 32
7. UNI - 30
8. Valparaiso - 20
9. Evansville - 15
 
Women's Preseason Poll:
1. Bradley - 99 (9)
2. Loyola - 88 (1)
3. Indiana State - 74
4. UNI - 73
5. Illinois State - 63
6. Missouri State - 53
7. Southern Illinois - 38
8. Drake - 32
9. Valparaiso - 18
10. Evansville - 12
 
Returning ISU Men from MVC Roster:
Isaac Bentz
Ryan Cash
Blake Kramer
Akis Medrano
Quentin Pierce
 
Returning ISU Women from MVC Roster:
Jessi Conley
Megan Doty
Abigail Grider
Cami Hansen
Colleen Madden
Michaela Ward
Alli Workman
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Cross Country teams, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.