SEC picks men's cross to finish second

FAYETTEVILLE – The Southeastern Conference men’s cross country poll was announced on Wednesday and the Arkansas Razorbacks are picked to finish second in the league.

Alabama captured seven first-place votes for a total of 13 points. The Razorbacks received four first-place votes and followed in second-place with 16 points, while Florida came in third with 34 points. Georgia posted 41 points for a fourth-place vote, while Auburn and Tennessee tied for fifth with 49 points. At the 2009 SEC Championships, Alabama won the title, Arkansas was second and Auburn finished third.

"This season will be another great year for SEC cross country," head coach Chris Bucknam said. "We have a strong group of seniors, outstanding newcomers and a very talented middle of the line-up. This is the team we have been working on for a few years and we’re very excited to get this season started."

Bucknam returns 10 lettermen for the 2010 season, including All-American senior Dorian Ulrey and 2009 SEC Freshman of the Year Solomon Haile. Along with Ulrey, Bucknam will also rely on leadership from seniors Lane Boyer, Michael Chinchar and Patrick Russell.

During the 2010 season, the Razorbacks will be in the hunt for their 35th SEC team title, their 31st NCAA Regional team title and their 41st trip to the NCAA Championships (since 1957).

Bucknam and the Razorbacks will open the season with a home meet at Agri Park on Friday, Sept. 3. The men’s race will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18 holds a meet at Missouri Southern and, on Saturday, Sept. 25, a meet at Stanford. Arkansas will host its second home meet of the season with the Chile Pepper Festival on Saturday, Oct. 16.

The championships portion of the season will start Monday, Nov. 1 with the SEC Championships, in Columbia, S.C., on the campus of the University of South Carolina. The NCAA South Central Regional Championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 13, in Waco Texas, at Baylor University. The season will wrap with the NCAA Championships, Monday, Nov. 22, in Terre Haute, Ind., on the campus of Indiana State University.

Download: PreseasonPoll10.pdf