Louisiana Cross Country Tabbed 7th and 12th in Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Polls

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Cross Country men and women ranked 7th and 12th, respectively, in the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, released by the conference office on Wednesday.

Arkansas State and Appalachian State took the top two spots in each side of the rankings for the second consecutive year.

In the men's poll, the Redwolves tied the Mountaineers with 91 overall points, but earned one additional first-place vote (4). On the women's side, Arkansas State received 139 overall points and seven first-place votes.

Now entering his 11th season at the helm, head coach Lon Badeaux is looking to improve upon last year's Sun Belt championship results which saw the men record a seventh-place finish while the women's team took 11th.

The men's roster features seven returners and six newcomers from a season ago, including graduate Damian O'Boyle who paced Louisiana with a 21st place finish at the conference championships and claimed the 4-mile title at the Warhawk Invitational.

The women's squad brings back eight runners from last season and adds freshmen Mararia Bravo-Garcia from Seville, Spain and Abbey Marie Ratcliff from Thibodaux.

Sophomore Emoni Coleman looks to lead the women as she enters her third season with red and white. The Atlanta, Ga. native posted a season-best (19:51.5) in the 5K at the conference championships, earning a team-best 47th place finish.

The Ragin' Cajuns will compete in a three-meet slate in 2021 beginning with the Rice Invitational on Sept. 10 in Houston, Texas.

The season will conclude with the Sun Belt championships on Oct. 29 in Mobile, Ala.

The preseason polls were constructed using a complete ranking of all Sun Belt participants submitted by each program's head coach.

For the latest on Louisiana Cross Country, stay tuned to RaginCajuns.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (RaginCajuns_TRK).

2021 Sun Belt Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
T1. Arkansas State (4) - 91
T1. App State (3) - 91
3. South Alabama (3) - 88
4. UTA - 68
5. Texas State - 58
6. Little Rock - 43
7. Louisiana - 41
8. Coastal Carolina - 29
9. Troy - 25
10. ULM - 16

2021 Sun Belt Conference Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Arkansas State (7) - 139
2. App State (5) - 136
3. South Alabama - 115
4. Troy - 98
5. UTA - 90
6. Texas State - 74
7. Coastal Carolina - 69
8. Little Rock - 56
9. Georgia Southern - 42
10. ULM - 41
11. Georgia State - 39
12. Louisiana - 37

Louisiana Cross Country Tabbed 7th and 12th in Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Polls

Players Mentioned

Mararia Bravo-Garcia

Emoni Coleman

Damian O'Boyle

Abbey Marie Ratcliff

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