For the third straight year, the Columbus State women’s cross country team has been selected as the preseason favorite in a poll of the league’s head coaches released today.  Columbus State finished with 93 points in the preseason poll, three ahead of second-place Augusta State. GCSU was third with North Georgia coming in fourth.

The CSU women won their fourth consecutive PBC Championship in 2008 and seek to become only the second PBC program ever to win five in a row. The Lady Cougars will have to do without three first-team All-Conference runners from a year ago, but do return All-Conference talents Brittany Skiles and Ashley Arnold.

Augusta State finished second at the PBC Championships but defeated Columbus State in the NCAA Regionals to earn their first-ever trip to the NCAA Nationals in 2008. The Lady Jaguars return All-Conference performers Kara Kreutzer and Savannah Sutton for 2009. GCSU returns four seniors for 2009 including Bonnie Ueltzen and Heather Raines who along with returning junior Dani Destiche were their top three finishers at the 2008 championships.

PBC cross country will have a different look for 2009 with new members Flagler College and the University of Montevallo. Flagler will bring both their men’s and women’s teams while Montevallo sponsors only women’s cross country. Armstrong Atlantic State will also revive their men’s program for the 2009 season.

The 2009 cross country season begins with selected events on Aug. 28 with the full schedule kicking in on Sept. 5. The season will culminate with the 19th annual PBC Championships on Oct. 24 in Pembroke, N.C. and hosted by UNC Pembroke.