LANCASTER, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's cross country team finished seventh in the Centennial Conference preseason poll.
Defending champion Haverford was the leader with eight first-place votes and 64 points, and Johns Hopkins was second with one first-place ballot and 57 points. Dickinson (50) was third, followed by Swarthmore (41), Muhlenberg (38), Gettysburg (26), Ursinus (21), Franklin & Marshall (18), and McDaniel (9).
The Bears reached new heights in a 2017 campaign that concluded with a program-record finish at the NCAA Mideast Regional, where they braved the cold to secure 22nd place. Junior James McDaid was the standard-bearer in the last race, finishing in 78th position.
Sophomore Dylan Geissinger-Tuttle figures to take another leap forward after a sensational rookie campaign that saw him finish fourth among all CC freshmen at the conference championship. Geissinger-Tuttle was third among CC first-years at the regional meet.
Senior Andrew Voyack, juniors John Haase and Logan Mazullo, and sophomore Kyle Berardi regularly made up the Bears' top seven.
McDaid and the Bears look to open the season by defending their title at Friday's Bryn Mawr Invitational. A year ago, McDaid took first place in a time of 16:59.1 to edge out senior teammate Joe Iuliucci for Ursinus, which turned in eight of the top nine finishers. Senior Jonny Cope placed sixth overall in that meet.