By RANGERS ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
With the start of the 2016 cross country season right around the corner, the Rangers are gearing up for a big year.
Last week the Great American Conference released both the Men’s and Women’s cross country preseason poll. This is where all the head coaches in the conference vote on who they think will win the conference and where the other teams will finish. The coaches picked Harding as the top team for the women while the Rangers ranked 10th tenth. On the men’s side Harding and East Central shared the top spot while the Rangers were picked to finish fifth.
For the Ranger women, the key to their success may be in the hands of two seniors, Willow Gahr and Rebecca Black, along with Sophomore Anna Parra. These three will be the anchors of the group, but first year head coach Clay Tarter has brought in a talented, young group to help out.
Manuel Reyes, who was a vital part of last year’s team, is the only returning member from last year. Still, the Ranger men will depend a lot on the help of some newly acquired runners to make Coach Tarter’s first season at the helm a memorable one.
Both teams will have their first shot at showing what they got on Sept. 3 in Edmond, Oklahoma at the University of Central Oklahoma land run.