DENVER – The Western Athletic Conference announced its men’s and women’s cross country pre-championship coaches’ polls, as voted on by the eight head coaches in the league. Utah State was selected as the favorite to win the men’s championship, while Idaho was picked to win the women’s title.

Utah State, the winner of five of the past six men’s WAC championships, was picked to win the men’s title. The Aggies received five first-place votes and 25 points. Idaho captured second place with 20 points with one first place vote. New Mexico State claimed the third spot with 18 points. With 13 points, Fresno State was voted fourth. San Jose State and Louisiana Tech followed in a tie for fifth place with seven points each.

Idaho, the 2010 WAC women’s champion, was selected first with five first-place votes and 46 overall points. 2009 champion New Mexico State followed closely in second with two first-place votes for 43 points. With 38 points and one first place vote, Utah State was picked to finish third. Fresno State received 31 points to capture the fourth spot, while Nevada was ranked fifth with 27 points. Hawai‘i was selected sixth with 17 points, followed by San Jose State in seventh with 15 points. Louisiana Tech was selected eighth with seven points.

The 2011 Western Athletic Conference cross country championships will take place in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday, Oct. 29.

2011 Pre-Championship Men's Cross Country Coaches Poll

Rank	Teams (1st-Place Votes)	Points
1	Utah State (5)	25
2	Idaho (1)	20
3	New Mexico State	18
4	Fresno State	13
5	San Jose State	7
6	Louisiana Tech	7

2011 Pre-Championship Women's Cross Country Coaches Poll

Rank	Teams (1st-Place Votes)	Points
1	Idaho (6)	46
2	New Mexico State (2)	43
3	Utah State (1)	38
4	Fresno State	31
5	Nevada	27
6	Hawai‘i	17
7	San Jose State	15
8	Louisiana Tech	7