FOREST, Va. – With the 2015-16 academic year set to commence this week, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference has announced the men's cross country preseason coaches' poll. A vote of the league's 11 head coaches comprised the survey and sees Emory & Henry College set to finish in eighth place after a finish of sixth last year.

Head Coach Ian Layne begins his tenure with Emory & Henry this fall with a team full of experience. The Wasps return four of their top five runners from 2015 which will provide a solid base from which to build the program moving forward.

"We are bringing back the smallest spread in the ODAC this fall (only nine places separated the first and fifth runner at last season's conference meet)," Layne commented. "With us bringing back this amount of talent along with having a strong group of upperclassmen we believe that we could have the best season in recent memory."

Washington and Lee University is tabbed to make it back-to-back league championships, earning eight first-place votes. Bridgewater College is second with two top nods while Lynchburg takes the third spot with the final first-place selection. Eastern Mennonite University and Roanoke College round out the top five.

Emory & Henry will begin the season on Thursday, September 1 Salem, Virginia, to compete against Roanoke in a time trial. This year, Washington and Lee will be the host of the ODAC Championships which will take place on Saturday, October 29 in Buena Vista, Virginia.

For more information about ODAC Men's Cross Country and to learn about each of the league's 11 teams, click HERE.

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-photo courtesy of Keith Lucas/Sideline Media 

2016 ODAC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
PRESEASON POLL