SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– The Drury men’s cross country team, coming off their best finish in the conference in 13 years, are picked to come in third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll.
The Panthers earned one first place vote and 123 points in the poll. Lewis received 11 first place votes and 142 points and is picked to win the GLVC, while Illinois Springfield got one first place vote and 127 points for second place in the poll. Drury finished 20 points in front of fourth-place Missouri S&T and 28 ahead of Southwest Baptist in fifth.
Drury came in third at last year’s GLVC Championship in Bolivar, marking their best finish at the event since 2010. The Panthers will enter their first year under head coach Luke Karamitros, who took over Drury’s cross country and track & field programs last January. The Panthers return five runners who were on the All-GLVC team and finished in the top 20 at the conference championship meet last year: Tyler Harris, Thomas Shuster, Santiago Nunez-Gonzalez, Ethan Haynes, and Trent Patterson.
Drury opens the season on Sept. 6 at the Bearcat Classic hosted by Southwest Baptist in Bolivar.
2024 GLVC MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON POLL
| Rank | School | Points (1st-place votes) |
| 1. | Lewis | 142 (11) |
| 2. | Illinois Springfield | 127 (1) |
| 3. | Drury | 123 (1) |
| 4. | Missouri S&T | 103 |
| 5. | Southwest Baptist | 95 |
| 6. | Missouri-St. Louis | 90 |
| 7. | Indianapolis | 85 |
| 8. | Truman State | 72 |
| 9. | Maryville | 58 |
| 10. | Rockhurst | 46 |
| 11. | McKendree | 32 |
| 12. | Quincy | 21 |
| 13. | William Jewell | 20 |
GLVC men’s cross country news release
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