Aug. 11, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - The defending runner-up Richmond women's cross country team was picked one place better, while the men were tabbed to repeat the best finish in program history, as the preseason coaches' polls were released by the conference recently.

The women's team, which has finished as the runner-up in each of the past two Championships and has placed among the top-three every year since joining the league in 2001, return a talented corps of runners including 2007 All-Conference performer in sophomore Nicol Traynor.

Traynor was third among freshmen and the 11th-place overall finisher in her first A-10 Championship. Also back are junior Amy Van Alstine (2006 A-10 Most Outstanding Rookie Performer) and junior Kylee Schuler, who was the leading Spider at the 2007 Championship with an eighth-place showing.

The Spider women were the 2003 A-10 Champions.

Charlotte is picked second and four-time defending champion La Salle is tabbed for third, followed by Xavier, Duquesne, Massachusetts, Saint Joseph's, Saint Louis, Dayton, Rhode Island, George Washington, Fordham, Temple and St. Bonaventure.

The A-10 Women's Cross Country Championship will be held Nov. 1 at the Campus Course at Charlotte.

On the men's side, another crop of talented runners could help the Spiders challenge for their first-ever A-10 title after a program-best runner-up finish in 2007. The Spiders were again picked second in 2008, behind perennial A-10 front-runner La Salle.

The Explorers, who have won two-straight conference crowns and six of the past seven, will be pushed by the Spiders returnees, headlined by 2006 A-10 Most Outstanding Rookie Andrew Benford and fellow junior Matt Llano. Benford was sixth at the 2007 Championship, while Llano was 12th.

Both Spider teams open their 2008 seasons Aug. 30 at the Spider Alumni Open.