Birmingham, Ala. – The Valdosta State women's cross country team learned Wednesday it was picked tenth in the 2023 Gulf South Conference Preseason Poll, announced by the league office.
Lee University was labeled as the league favorite with 143 points and received all but one first-place votes, while Mississippi College received 133 points and the final first place nod. Alabama Huntsville was picked third (122), followed by Auburn Montgomery (106) and West Florida (91) rounded out the top five.
Union was selected sixth (88), followed by Montevallo (81), Christian Brothers (69), West Georgia (56), and Valdosta State (48) to conclude the top ten. Delta State was voted 11th with 35 points, followed by West Alabama (25), and Shorter was 13th with 17 points.
The Blazers are led by eighth-year head coach Todd Smoot as he welcomes back junior Caitlyn Koske, who finished 64th in the NCAA DII South Region Cross Country Championships this past season and was also named Gulf South Conference Runner of the Week for the week of October 12th. The Blazers are also bringing back seniors Katie LaCroix and Kyleigh Rice. Along with the returners, VSU is bringing in two new freshman, Charlotte Carley and Leah John.
Click Here for the GSC release of the preseason poll.
Valdosta State opens its 2023 season Sept. 1 in the annual VSU Border Clash at Freedom Park at 7pm. The Border Clash is free and open to the public.
Click Here for the full 2023 Blazer women's cross country schedule.
