Nate Miller Associate Head Coach | Wayne State University Athletics Website
Nate Miller Associate Head Coach | Wayne State University Athletics Website
DETROIT -- In the annual Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll released on Thursday, the Wayne State University men's team was projected to finish third in the conference for the 2024 season.
The Warriors received 62 points from the conference coaches. The third-place ranking is the second highest in the preseason that the team has received since the poll started in 2018. The best preseason ranking over the last seven years was second in 2022.
Grand Valley State University continued its streak (2018 to 2024) of being picked to finish first in the GLIAC with 81 points. Both GVSU and Saginaw Valley State (73 points) garnered first-place votes, with GVSU taking nine and SVSU receiving one.
Top returnee Tyler Buchanan is entering his redshirt senior season after back-to-back Second Team All-GLIAC honors in 2022 and 2023. Buchanan finished 24th at the 2023 NCAA Midwest Regional, crossing the finish line in a time of 31:29.30.
Below is the complete 2024 GLIAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll:
1. Grand Valley State - 81 (9 first-place votes)
2. Saginaw Valley State - 73 (1 first-place vote)
3. Wayne State - 62
4. Michigan Tech - 59
5. Parkside - 44
6. Davenport -43
7. Ferris State -37
8. Purdue Northwest -24
9. Lake Superior State -18
10. Roosevelt -9
The 2024 season commences for men at the Northwood Invitational on September 7 in Midland, Mich.