POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced the women's and men's cross country preseason polls on Monday morning. The Marist women's team was projected to finish second in the conference this year, while the men were projected to finish fifth in the MAAC for the spring 2021 season. This was a cumulation of the votes by the league's 11 head coaches on both sides.
 
These projections fall right in line with the finishes of both teams at the 2019 MAAC Championships. The women placed second as last year's competition for the third year in a row, while the men finished in fifth place.
 
The Iona Gaels were projected to finish in first place in both the men's and women's preseason polls, receiving all but one first place vote combined.
 
The 2020-21 MAAC Cross Country Championships will officially be held at the Seaview Golf Club in Galloway, New Jersey. This year's championship is sponsored by the Atlantic City Sports Commission. As of now, it is scheduled to take place March 5.
 
The full results of this year's preseason poll can be found below.
 

WOMEN'S XC PRESEASON POLL

1	Iona (10)	120
2	Marist	102
3	Siena	90
T4	Monmouth	84
T4	Quinnipiac (1)	84
T6	Rider	63
T6	Manhattan	63
8	Fairfield	44
9	Canisius	36
10	Niagara	28
11	Saint Peter's	12

 
 

MEN'S XC PRESEASON POLL

1	Iona (11)	121
2	Siena	103
T3	Manhattan	93
T3	Monmouth	93
5	Marist	76
6	Rider	60
7	Canisius	58
8	Quinnipiac	49
9	Fairfield	33
10	Niagara	27
11	Saint Peter's	13