Men's Regional Rankings I Women's Regional Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – The Eastern Kentucky University men's and women's cross country teams will enter 2019 ranked in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Region preseason poll.
 
The EKU men are ranked No. 3, while the EKU women come in at No. 9.
 
The men's team placed second at the NCAA Southeast Regional last year, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. It was the Colonels' sixth trip to the national championship meet in the last eight years.
 
EKU will have to replace four of its top seven runners from a year ago; however, the Colonels have the depth to do just that. Sophomore All-American James Sugira – the reigning Southeast Region champion – is expected to be eased back into action following an injury at the NCAA Indoor Track Championships in March.
 
Senior veterans Samuel Abascal and Zach Stewart are also back from last year's NCAA run. Abascal was voted the 2019 OVC Male Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in May after running 8:42.5 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Stewart took silver in the 10,000 meters and bronze in the 5,000 meters at the OVC Outdoor Track Championships.
 
Senior Fred Kanda, junior Zak Kirk, sophomores Remi Schyns and Cole Barkocy and a host of talented newcomers give the Colonels solid depth heading into the fall.
 
The EKU men are ranked ahead of the likes of Virginia Tech (No. 4), Furman (No. 5), Wake Forest (No. 6), Duke (No. 7) and North Carolina (No. 9), as well as in-state rivals Kentucky (No. 13) and Louisville (No. 14).
 
No. 1 N.C. State and No. 2 Virginia are the only teams positioned ahead of the Colonels.
 
The EKU women finished seventh at the Southeast Regional last fall. The Colonels' top finisher from that race, senior Lilian Jeptoo Kiborus, is back. Kiborus placed 10^th overall and earned NCAA All-Southeast Region honors. She is coming off a strong outdoor season in which she won gold in the 10,000 meters at the OVC Outdoor Championships in May (36:13.9).
 
The Colonels are young, but talented, after Kiborus. Sophomores Jeanne Reix Charat and Saskia Pingpank both competed for the Colonels at last year's regional and are coming off strong outdoor track seasons. Fellow sophomores Beighley Ayers and Lou Trois will also be relied upon more heavily this season.
 
The EKU women are ranked ahead of such teams as North Carolina (No. 10), Louisville (No. 11) and Clemson (No. 12).
 
N.C. State is also the top-ranked women's team in the region heading into 2019.
 
The cross country teams open the season at Northern Kentucky's Queen City Invitational this Saturday, August 31.