BRENTWOOD, Tenn.—In a preseason vote of head cross country coaches in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Tennessee Tech men's cross country team ranked seventh and the women's cross country team ranked ninth respectively.

Last season, the Golden Eagle men finished eighth in the OVC Championships, while the women placed ninth.

On the men's side Eastern Kentucky (121 points, 11 first-place votes) was followed by Eastern Illinois (107), Belmont (98), SIUE (82), Morehead State (79), Southeast Missouri (72), Tennessee Tech (60, 1 first-place vote), Murray State (55), Austin Peay and UT Martin (42 apiece), Jacksonville State (23) and Tennessee State (11).

On the women's side Eastern Kentucky (120 points, 10 first-place votes) was followed by Eastern Illinois (108, 2 first-place votes), Southeast Missouri (95), Murray State (87), Belmont (81), UT Martin (64), Morehead State (63), SIUE (55), Tennessee Tech (51), Austin Peay (33), Jacksonville State (24) and Tennessee State (11).

The 2016 Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championships will be held October 29 at the Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee. It marks the first time the championship has been there since 2009. Tech's first regular season meet of the 2016 season will occur on September 3, when they host the Golden Eagle Invitational at the Ironwood Golfcourse with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.

2016 OVC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

(as voted on by the OVC head cross country coaches)

TEAM                                                                                      POINTS

  1.   Eastern Kentucky (11 first-place votes)                             121

  2.   Eastern Illinois                                                                107

  3.   Belmont                                                                          98

  4.   SIUE                                                                              82

  5.   Morehead State                                                              79

  6.   Southeast Missouri                                                         72

  7.   Tennessee Tech (1)                                                        60

  8.   Murray State                                                                 55

  9.   Austin Peay                                                                   42

        UT Martin                                                                      42

11.   Jacksonville State                                                          23

12.   Tennessee State                                                            11

                (Teams awarded 11 points for a first-place vote, 10 for second, etc.)

2016 OVC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

(as voted on by the OVC head cross country coaches)

TEAM                                                                                      POINTS

  1.   Eastern Kentucky (10 first-place votes)                           120

  2.   Eastern Illinois (2)                                                         108

  3.   Southeast Missouri                                                         95

  4.   Murray State                                                                  87

  5.   Belmont                                                                         81

  6.   UT Martin                                                                       64

  7.   Morehead State                                                              63

  8.   SIUE                                                                             55

  9.   Tennessee Tech                                                              51

10.   Austin Peay                                                                    33

11.   Jacksonville State                                                          24

12.   Tennessee State                                                            11

                (Teams awarded 11 points for a first-place vote, 10 for second, etc.)

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