HIGH POINT—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College men’s cross country team was selected seventh out of 10 teams in the 2010 Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll as voted upon by the leagues head coaches.

The 2009 USTFCCCA All-Academic team finished sixth in last year’s Conference Carolinas Championship. The Knights have won two of the last five league championships (2005 & 2008). SAPC returns a core of four seniors that have all scored for the Royal Blue & White in their collegiate careers. The quartet includes three-time All-Conference honoree Doug Holt.

Queens University of Charlotte has been selected to the No. 1 spot in this year’s preseason poll as voted on by league head coaches. After two years of seventh place finishes at the NCAA National Championships, the Royals are not only set to defend their perfect-score Conference Carolinas Championship title, but are also hoping for a top-three national finish.

The Royals will be led by two-time NCAA individual national track champion Michael Crouch who was sidelined during the 2009 season with a hernia, but returned to form at the NCAA Outdoor Track Championships with a runner-up finish in the 5000-meters. Queens also returns 1500-meter All-American Simon Stuetzel, NCAA national indoor 800-meter runner-up Nelson Mwangi, and 2009 Conference Carolinas Cross Country Freshman of the Year Alex Schilling. Transfers Felix Duchampt and Michael Hicks are expected to make impacts as are freshman Colin Guillard and Hendrik Huschka.

The 2010 Lees-McRae College men’s cross country team returns six juniors from a 2009 season where they took second place in the Conference Carolinas Championship and fourth in the Southeast Region. Head coach Thomas Cason returns Sondre Thorbergsen, who finished 11th in conference, Craig Simpkins, who finished 16th, and Michael Davis, who finished 17th; Luke Anton, Jordan Gillespie and Connor Gray round out the Bobcat returners.

Cason added three freshmen and a transfer to the 2010 Bobcats. Jared Lupton transferred from the College of Idaho while freshman Austin High, Will McCoy and Doni McCarty complete the team.

“We returned a great junior class this year,” Cason said. “With the addition of a talented group of newcomers, we now have all the tools necessary to take our program to a higher level. I look forward to coaching each of these young men as we strive to accomplish our team goals this season.”

Mount Olive College returns all of its top five finishers from a squad that posted the team’s best conference tournament performance and highest regional ranking in eight years. The Trojans placed fourth at last year’s Conference Carolinas Championship, coming within two points of a top three finish. Mount Olive was ranked as high as No. 9 in the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Poll and finished 10th in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.

Kerry “Bear” Maloney finished 13th out of 82 runners in the 2009 Conference Carolinas Championship and earned All-Conference Carolinas third team honors. Maloney notched three top five finishes in 2009 and finished 10th out of 75 non-Division I runners at the UNC-Charlotte Invitational. Paul Hoffman recorded three top 10 finishes last year and Kevin Ryan had two top 10’s. Ronnie Sturgill and Chris Menjares rounded out the Trojans’ top five at the conference and regional championships. All five runners are juniors this year.

Erskine finished fourth in the poll with Pfeiffer fifth followed by Limestone, St. Andrews, Belmont Abbey, Barton, and Coker respectively rounding-out the poll standings.

Lady Knights gain confidence with exhibition win

Seven different players registered a point as the St. Andrews Presbyterian College women’s soccer team coasted to an impressive 7-0 exhibition win over the University of South Carolina at Lancaster on Friday afternoon.

The Lady Knights will look to carry the momentum from the dominating win into next week’s regular season opener. SAPC opens the 2010 campaign at home against non-conference Columbia College on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

“Tuesday’s scrimmage against Cape Fear was tough for us but today’s game gave us the opportunity to get a lot of players in the game,” said SAPC first year head coach Rohan Naraine. “I thought we played well all over the field including on defense, in the midfield, and on offense. It was a great win for us and gives our team a lot of confidence heading into next week.”

A quartet of Knights notched two points. Senior Marie Savage and sophomore Megan Jolly each scored twice. Senior Sam Frazer and junior Olivia Taylor both had one goal and one assist.

Junior Chelsea Ross added the Knights other goal while sophomore Ramsey Vogt and freshman Hannah Wilson both got in the box score with one assist.

The SAPC goalkeeping tandem of senior Becca Knott and sophomore Ashley McNeill combined for the shutout. Knott had the only save over the first 70 minutes while McNeill was untested in the final 20.

The Lancers took the first shot of the game just 67 seconds into play but the attempt was easily saved by Knott. It proved to be the only shot of the game for USC Lancaster as St. Andrews took the contests final 36 shots. A pair of Lancer goalies totaled 15 saves as the visiting squad play with just 11 players. SAPC’s Coach Naraine added, “I got to give Lancaster credit for hustling the whole game and never giving up.”

Taylor started the Knights scoring in the ninth minute before the floodgates opened as the Royal Blue & White jumped out to five goal lead at halftime. SAPC had all eight of the games corner kicks, scoring on one sent in by Frazer.