NEW ORLEANS – James Madison cross country has been selected to finish tied for second in the 2023 Sun Belt Women’s Cross Country Preseason Poll, the league announced on Thursday afternoon.

Arkansas State, which finished second at the Sun Belt Championships a season ago and won three straight conference titles prior to that, was picked to finish first with 159 points and received six of the 13 first-place votes.

James Madison tallied 136 points to tie with Marshall and Southern Miss. The Thundering Herd earned one first-place vote, while four picked the Golden Eagles to finish first. App State (123 points) rounded out the top five and received a pair of first-place votes.

The Dukes return three scores from last year’s conference meet in senior Miranda Stanhope, junior Sofia Terenziani and sophomore Faithe Ketchum. Stanhope earned Second Team All-Conference status in 2022 after finishing sixth in a school record 5K time of 17:05.9, while Terenziani picked up Third Team All-Conference honors (13th – 17:43.4).

As a team, JMU finished second overall at the league showdown with 83 points, just 12 behind second-place Arkansas State. Southern Miss took home the team title with 44 points, while Molly Jones of Coastal Carolina was the first runner to cross the finish line with a time of 16:29.5.

JMU opens up the 2023 season at Richmond’s Spider Alumni Open on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 9:50 a.m.. The 4K race takes place at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va., and will stream on SpiderTV. The 2023 Sun Belt Cross Country Championships are scheduled for October 28 at the Graham Creek Nature Park Preserve in Foley, Ala. The women’s 5K race is slated to start at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT and be watched on ESPN+.

2023 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll

1. Arkansas State (6) – 159 points
T2. James Madison – 136 points
T2. Marshall (1) – 136 points
T2. Southern Miss (4) – 136 points
5. App State (2) – 123 points
6. Coastal Carolina – 103 points
7. South Alabama – 91 points
8. Louisiana – 78 points
9. ULM – 70 points
10. Troy – 51 points
11. Texas State – 45 points
12. Georgia Southern – 35 points
13. Georgia State – 20 points

— JMU Athletics —