CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The NC State women and the North Carolina men have been chosen as the favorites to win the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championships following a vote of the league’s head coaches.
The coaches have voted that history is set to repeat itself as NC State, the reigning back-to-back-to-back NCAA Women’s Cross Country National Champions, has been picked to win its ninth consecutive ACC Women’s Cross Country Championship. The Wolfpack garnered 15 of the 18 possible first-place votes, logging 321 total points. Notre Dame earned the top nod on the final three ballots to total 302 points and a second-place finish.
ACC newcomer Stanford was picked to finish third, earning 279 total points in the preseason poll. The Cardinal narrowly inched past Virginia, who was slated to finish fourth with 275 points. North Carolina rounds out the top five with 239 total points.
The Tar Heels snuck into the top five, just four points ahead of sixth-place Syracuse. The Orange picked up 234 points, while Boston College finished seventh with 223 points. Wake Forest finished five points in front of Duke to take eighth and ninth place, respectively, with 171 and 166 points each.
Narrow margins were the story of the women’s preseason poll as Virginia Tech’s 133 total points were enough to lift them into 10th place and past Florida State, which finished 11th with 131 points. Clemson logged 110 points which earned a 12th-place prediction while Louisville finished in 13th with 106 points – just four behind the Tigers.
The coaches predicted ACC newcomers SMU and California to finish in 14th and 15th, respectively, earning 95 and 81 points. Pitt took 17th place, while Miami rounded out the 18-team preseason poll.
North Carolina was selected to repeat as favorites on the men’s side, garnering 13 of the 17 possible first-place votes for a total of 282 points. In 2023, ACC Coach of the Year Chris Miltenberg, led the Tar Heels to their first league title since 1985.
Virginia finished second after picking up a pair of first-place votes to finish with 250 points, just ahead of newcomer Stanford, which logged 249 points and one first-place vote for third. Notre Dame picked up the final first-place vote, finishing in fourth place with 242 total points.
Syracuse notched a fifth-place selection after earning 235 points, Wake Forest was sixth with 205, NC State took seventh with 182 and Florida State was eighth with 153. Duke claimed ninth-place after totaling 144 points, while Virginia Tech rounded out the top 10 with 130 points.
Pitt notched an 11th-place selection with 105 points, just four points in front of ACC newcomer Cal, which took 12th. Louisville was picked to finish 13th with 92 points while Georgia Tech finished narrowly behind in 14th, totaling 89 points. Boston College, Clemson and Miami rounded out the final three spots in the 17-team poll.
Women’s Cross Country Preseason Poll
- NC State (15), 321 points
- Notre Dame (3), 302
- Stanford, 279
- Virginia, 275
- North Carolina, 239
- Syracuse, 234
- Boston College, 223
- Wake Forest, 171
- Duke, 166
- Virginia Tech, 133
- Florida State, 131
- Georgia Tech, 111
- Clemson, 110
- Louisville, 106
- SMU, 95
- Cal, 81
- Pitt, 79
- Miami, 21
Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll
- North Carolina (13), 282 points
- Virginia (2), 250
- Stanford (1), 249
- Notre Dame (1), 242
- Syracuse, 235
- Wake Forest, 205
- NC State, 182
- Florida State, 153
- Duke, 144
- Virginia Tech, 130
- Pitt, 105
- Cal, 101
- Louisville, 92
- Georgia Tech, 89
- Boston College, 75
- Clemson, 63
- Miami, 19
Parenthesis designates first-place votes