Tweet #theGAC  RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – On Tuesday, the Great American Conference announced the results of its 2021 GAC men’s cross country preseason coaches’ poll.  East Central, the Spring 2021 champions received six of the eight available first-place votes to sit atop the ranking.
 
In February, the Tigers won their seventh GAC title after placing four runners in the top eight positions. They return their top five runners from that meet in Emmanuel Bett, Jakaveon Shaw, Carson Sandvik, Gilberto Palomo and Zachery Wells. Bett, Shaw, Sandvik and Palomo earned top-10 finishes and First-Team honors in the spring.
 
Harding edged out Oklahoma Baptist by one point to finish second in the voting.  The Bisons’ Dylan Douglas won the individual title at the February GAC Championships by 12 seconds to become the first repeat champion in league history. Jackson Pruim, third, and Tom Valente, ninth, also placed inside the top 10.
 
The Bison finished second to the Tigers at the GAC Championships after placing all seven of their counting runners inside the top 15. They return five of those top seven, headlined by Christian Arenivar and Noah Eskew, their two First-Team All-GAC performers.
 
Southern Arkansas took fourth, followed by Ouachita. The Muleriders’ Rob Kraus garnered First-Team All-GAC accolades after placing 10^th at the GAC Championships. The Tigers transition from a club team to an intercollegiate team and will compete at the GAC Championships for the first time
 
Southern Nazarene and Northwestern Oklahoma State tied for sixth in the poll, followed by Arkansas-Monticello. The Crimson Storm’s Zach McAlpin registered a 17^th-place finish at the GAC Championships to land on the All-GAC Second Team.
 
The GAC Championships take place on Saturday, October 23. Harding will serve as the site for the second time after previously hosting in 2011.