Men's cross country finishes tied for third in Landmark preseason balloting

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College men's cross country was knotted with the University of Scranton in a tie for third place in the Landmark Conference preseason poll, which was released Friday.

Juniata and Scranton each notched 61 points in the voting, conducted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. The Eagles finished second out of eight teams in the 2010 Landmark men's cross country championship.

Susquehanna University was the near-unanimous choice to win the Landmark in 2011, collecting 82 points. Moravian College was second with 67 points.

Trailing Juniata and Scranton were Goucher College (42 points), the United States Merchant Marine Academy (35 points), Drew University (21 points), and Catholic University of America (17 points).

The Eagles are paced by senior Ceth Parker (Sabillasville, Md./Catoctin), who finished fifth in the 2010 Landmark championship with a time of 27:26.80. Sophomore Nate Alter (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) posted the next-highest finish among Juniata returnees, placing 13th with a time of 28:02.80.

Juniata opens its 2011 season on Saturday, Sept. 3, when it travels to Lewisburg, Pa., to compete in the Bucknell Opener.

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