UB Cross Country Teams Placed Number Eight And Nine In Preseason ECC Coaches' Poll

West Babylon, N.Y. – Roberts Wesleyan is the overwhelming favorite to earn ECC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships entering the 2021 season as the Redhawks claimed the top spot in both of the conference's preseason coaches polls released on Tuesday. In addition, Roberts Wesleyan's Shane Pease (Rochester, N.Y.) and St. Thomas Aquinas' Abagaile Kimbrell (Monroe, N.Y.), were selected as the winners of the ECC Preseason Runner of the Year honor.

With ECC cross country back after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the conference's coaches predict a familiar outcome in the return to action this fall. Both Roberts Wesleyan squads enter the season with a streak of six straight ECC Championships. The Redhawks teams are both coming off a season in which they qualified for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, as well.

The Redhawks' men's team was a unanimous choice atop the poll, earning all eight first place votes. The Roberts women earned all but two first place votes, with St. Thomas Aquinas and District of Columbia earning one apiece. The top five in both polls were identical with St. Thomas Aquinas in second, followed by Molloy, Daemen, and Queens.

A two-time ECC All-Conference honoree and former ECC Rookie of the Year, Pease earns the title of the ECC Men's Preseason Runner of the Year after a strong 2019 season. He finished in the top-six in four of the six meets of which he was entered, with his top finish a third place showing in the Harry F. Anderson Invitational. He also picked up sixth place finishes in both the ECC and NCAA East Region Championships, helping the Redhawks to team championships in both races.

Kimbrell earns the ECC Preseason Runner of the Year honor on the women's side. During her 2019 campaign, she earned five top-five finishes which included a first place showing at the Golden Eagle Invitational with a personal 5K-best time of 18:12.2. She also finished in second in two other outings, including at the ECC Championship where she finished just one-tenth of a second behind the meet's winner. Kimbrell also qualified as an individual for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship after an 11th place finish at the NCAA East Regional.

2021 ECC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll

( ) - first place votes

ECC Men's Cross Country Preseason Runner of the Year: Shane Pease, Roberts Wesleyan 

2021 ECC Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll

() - first place votes

ECC Women's Cross Country Preseason Runner of the Year: Abagail Kimbrell, St. Thomas Aquinas