WEST BABYLON, N.Y. – Eight-time defending champion Roberts Wesleyan was picked first in the 2023 ECC Men's Cross Country preseason poll, as voted on by the league's seven head coaches and announced on Monday morning. In addition, Daemen senior Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.) was tabbed the ECC Men's Cross Country Preseason Runner the Year.
The Redhawks earned six of seven first-place votes for 48 total points. Roberts Wesleyan returns five All-Conference performers in 2022 ECC Runner of the Year Blake Kasper (1st), Owen White (2nd), Jackson Doran (3rd), Zachary Hall (4th), and Ryan Karker (5th), a core that swept the top five spots at last year's ECC Championship en route to a perfect 15-point performance.
Molloy, who earned the final first-place vote, was the runner-up in the poll with 40 points. The Lions return four All-Conference selections in Aiden Watson (8th), Eric Palencia (10th), Matt Floyd (11th), and Frank Ferrante (13th) from last year's third-place squad. Daemen, last year's runner-up, rounds out the top three with 35 points.
The ECC Preseason Runner of the Year, Moote earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team a year ago after turning in a sixth-place finish at the ECC Championship, leading Daemen to a second-place team finish. Moote also turned in four top-five finishes last fall, including back-to-back individual 8k titles at St. Michael's Equality Run and Houghton's Highlander Invitational (25:30.1 PR), and finished 34th at the NCAA East Region Championship.
2023 ECC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. |
| 1. Roberts Wesleyan (6) | 48 |
| 2. Molloy (1) | 40 |
| 3. Daemen | 35 |
| 4. St. Thomas Aquinas | 30 |
| 5. Queens | 20 |
| 6. D'Youville | 13 |
| 7. Staten Island | 10 |
() - first place votes
Men's Cross Country Preseason Runner of the Year: Jon Moote, Sr., Daemen
