INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD: The Great West Conference track coaches have chosen Utah Valley University as the favorite to capture both the men's and the women's 2010 GWC indoor track and field titles, the conference office announced Tuesday.
"This shows a lot of respect for our program," UVU head coach Scott Houle said. "The indoor season is a little bit of a challenge for us. South Dakota is a very good indoor team so winning both in their arena will be a tough thing for us to accomplish. We are definitely going to continue to improve our team and go to South Dakota as prepared as possible in late February."
Utah Valley received six first-place votes on the men's side for a total of 61 points. South Dakota, which won both the men's and women's inaugural indoor titles last season, received the other two first-place votes, tallying 58 points.
Houston Baptist finished in third place at 43 points in the men's voting, followed closely by Texas-Pan American with 42 points. North Dakota finished fifth with 31 points and Seattle posted 26 points in sixth place. Rounding out the preseason voting on the men's side were Chicago State with 17 points and NJIT with 10 points.
On the women's side, Utah Valley received five first-place votes and a total of 60 points. Defending champion South Dakota was a close second with 59 points and the remaining three first-place ballots.
Houston Baptist and Texas-Pan American tied for third with 39 points apiece, followed by North Dakota in fifth place with 35 points. Seattle ranked sixth with 25 points and Chicago State and NJIT finished out the poll with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
The 2010 GWC indoor track and field champions will be determined at the conference meet on February 26-27, when South Dakota hosts the event at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D.