ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley men's cross country team earned a top-20 ranking in two national preseason polls this week as two of the top Division III Cross Country outlets released their first polls of the season. The Dutchmen were 18th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Poll and 19th in the D3 Glory Days Poll.
 
LVC is coming off the program's first-ever trip to the National Championships, where they finished 22nd last fall. They return a large portion of the roster, including four of the seven runners who competed at the national meet. The Dutchmen received 134 points in the Coaches Association poll that was headlined by defending National Champion University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. LVC was ranked third of Mid-Atlantic region teams behind Johns Hopkins University, which was second nationally, and Carnegie Mellon University, which was 10th. This is the second consecutive year LVC has been ranked in the preseason national rankings. Last season, the Dutchmen were 26th in the preseason poll.
 
D3 Glory Days, a podcast that serves as one of the top sources for Division III running, has the Dutchmen 19th in their preseason rankings. SUNY Geneseo is first while New York University is second in the poll. Johns Hopkins is slated fourth while Carnegie Mellon was picked 13th.
 
The Dutchmen will run in a few big meets that will affect their regional and national rankings this fall. On Saturday, September 26, they will check out this year's Regional Championship course at the Lock Haven Invitational. The team will then head to Lehigh University on Friday, October 2, for the prestigious Paul Short Run. Last year, LVC finished sixth in the White Race at the Paul Short Run, which fueled their selection as an at-large team for the National Championships. The squad will also compete at the Connecticut College Invitational on October 17, which will provide them another opportunity to race against top teams from other regions. The Middle Atlantic Conference Championship will be held on Saturday, October 31, at Stevenson University, with the Mid-Atlantic Championship two weeks later on November 14 at Lock Haven.

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