BAY CITY – The Grand Valley State men's and women's cross country teams are heavily favored by Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference coaches in the 2021 GLIAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll.
The Lakers claimed the No. 1 spot in the men's poll with nine first-place votes and 81 points. Saginaw Valley State was picked to finish second with one first-place vote and 73 points.
Michigan Tech (61 points), Wayne State (55) and Northwood (45) rounded out the men's top five. Parkside (43) was sixth, Ferris State (33) seventh, Purdue Northwest (32) eighth, Davenport (16) ninth and Lake Superior State 10 th (11).
In this week's USTFCCA Men's Cross Country Coaches Poll, GVSU is ranked second nationally behind Colorado School of Mines, while Michigan Tech is 27th.
The GVSU women, ranked No. 1 nationally in the USTFCCA Coaches Poll, garnered 10 first-place votes and a league-leading 100 points, while the Cardinals were second with one first-place vote and 89 points. Wayne State finished third with 78 points, and Upper Peninsula rivals Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan tied for fourth with 68 points.
The final six spots went to Ferris State (57), Parkside (50), Northwood (32), Purdue Northwest (27), Davenport (26) and Lake Superior State (10).
Nationally, the Wayne State women are ranked 20th, while the Huskies are 26th.
