Aug. 31, 2017
By Megan Golden
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Atlantic Coast Conference released its preseason coaches poll on Thursday, with the University of Notre Dame women’s and men’s cross country teams predicted to finish second and sixth, respectively.
The Irish return several student-athletes to the 2017 roster, including this year’s co-captains Brent Kennedy, Kevin Pulliam, Rachel DaDamio and Anna Rohrer.
Rohrer, a two-time cross country All-American, will look to win back-to-back individual ACC titles just one year after placing third overall at the NCAA Cross Country Championships as a sophomore. Rohrer leads a women’s team that was predicted to finish eighth in the country by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Tuesday.
In 2016, the Notre Dame women finished second at the ACC Championships, while the men’s squad raced to a 10th-place finish.
Notre Dame’s men’s and women’s squads travel to Valparaiso on Friday for their first meet of the regular season, where they will look to defend last year’s title in the Crusader Open at Sunset Hill Farm County Park.
ACC Women’s Predicted Order of Finish
1. NC State
2. Notre Dame
3. Syracuse
4. Virginia Tech
5. Louisville
6. Virginia
7. Wake Forest
8. Pitt
9. Duke
10. Florida State
11. North Carolina
12. Boston College
13. Clemson
14. Georgia Tech
15. Miami
ACC Men’s Predicted Order of Finish
1. Syracuse
2. Virginia
3. NC State
4. Virginia Tech
5. Florida State
6. Notre Dame
7. Louisville
8.-t North Carolina
8-t. Pitt
10. Wake Forest
11. Georgia Tech
12. Duke
13. Boston College
14. Clemson
15. Miami
For behind-the-scenes coverage of the Irish cross country program, follow @NDXCTF on Twitter and @NDXCTF on Instagram.
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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer and cross country/track and field programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.