2008 Indoor Track & Field Preseason Conference Poll

WOMEN PICKED THIRD, MEN FIRST IN PRESEASON CONFERENCE POLL

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Nov. 29 – Southern Utah men and women’s indoor track and field have been picked first and third in the Summit League preseason poll as released by the conference offices today.

The Thunderbird men will enter the indoor season as the defending conference champion with the women looking to inch just ahead after a second-place team finish last year.

SUU’s men’s received two first-place votes and 32 points to lead the conference as the women garnered 40 points and two first-place votes to finish just behind North Dakota State and Oral Roberts, each with 44 points and three first-place votes.

“It is always nice to see that our program is well respected among the Summit League coaches,” head coach Eric Houle said of the poll.  “However, the bottom line is wherever you are ranked you have to compete hard to win titles.  No one will just give you a title, you really have to earn it.”

North Dakota State and Oral Roberts received the other first-place votes in the men’s poll with three and two, respectively, with each garnering 31 and 28 points.  Western Illinois (20), South Dakota State (18), UMKC (11) and Oakland (7) rounded out the men’s poll.

On the women’s side, Western Illinois (28) and South Dakota State (27) were voted fourth and fifth with UMKC (16), IPFW (13) and Oakland (12) completing the women’s poll.

The indoor season will officially kick off when the Thunderbirds travel to the Snake River Invitational on January 18 in Pocatello, Idaho.  A small contingency of athletes will have already competed with pole vaulters competing in the Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev. January 4-5 and the throwers competing in the Throws Pentathlon in Citrus, Calif. on January 12.