BYU cross-country: BYU women's cross-country voted to finish second in preseason poll

PROVO, Utah – Following a poll of the nine head women's cross-country coaches in the West Coast Conference, BYU was selected to finish in second place behind the University of San Francisco.

The Dons received seven first-place votes and 63 overall points, while BYU received one first-place vote with 56 overall points. The University of Portland also received one first-place vote with 51 overall points and is tabbed to finish third.

The conference also released the names of the 2012 Preseason All-WCC Team. BYU senior Stephanie Bills is the lone runner to represent BYU on the team. As a junior, Bills finished 14th at the WCC Championships with a time of 21:39. She graduated last year with a degree in nursing but will return to use her last year of eligibility with the cross country team.

San Francisco led the conference in All-WCC selections with five runners. Portland followed closely behind with three runners, while BYU and Gonzaga had one runner each.

BYU placed second in conference standings in 2011 behind San Francisco. The Dons have captured the last three conference championships.

The preseason polls for the regional and national rankings will be posted Monday and Tuesday, respectively, at www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-i-rankings.

2012 West Coast Conference Preseason Poll

Team (First Place Votes) Points

1. San Francisco (7) 63

2. BYU (1) 56

3. Portland (1) 51

4. Loyola Marymount 44

5. Gonzaga 33

6. Santa Clara 27

7. San Diego 24

8. Saint Mary’s 14

9. Pepperdine 12

2012 Preseason All-West Coast Conference Team

Runner School Year

Alice Baker San Francisco Senior

Stephanie Bills BYU Senior

Sophie Curl San Francisco Senior

Kellie Houser Portland Junior

Laura Suur San Francisco Senior

Marit Tegelaar Portland Senior

Emily Thomas Gonzaga Junior

Chloe Treleven San Francisco Senior

Maor Toyouri San Francisco Junior

Merel van Steenbergen Portland Junior

Steven Tew is an SID at BYU Athletic Communications. He can be contacted at wtrack_sid@byu.edu,