Lake Marie Relays/MAC Preseason Poll
The University of Akron cross country teams open up their seasons Saturday, August 31 at the Lake Marie Relays hosted by Ashland University. Both the men's and women's teams welcome a large group of talented newcomers. Despite being picked to finish last by MAC men's coaches, Coach Scott Jones is looking forward to the upcoming season, "Although I would have prefered to have been picked higher, I am very excited about this group and their ability to upset the formchart. I hope we can use this as motivation to work hard each day in training and to compete well at the MAC championships on Nov. 2. Although we will be very young, we are also very talented. We will definitely surprise people."
The women's team will have a new look. Gone are All American Michell Rizzo, All Ohio champion Bobbie Hardbarger and 2001 captain Jaime Alton. The Zips were picked my MAC coaches to place 7th at this year's conference meet, up one place from last year's 8th-place finish. Like the men, this year's women's team will be dominated by new faces. "Although the MAC will be very competitive, I think our new-found depth and the enthusiasm we bring to practice will enable us to be very successful. I'm eager to see how well we gel as a group," says Jones.
