WEST BABYLON, N.Y. – Eight-time defending champion Roberts Wesleyan topped the 2023 ECC Women's Cross Country preseason poll, as voted on by the league's eight head coaches and announced on Monday morning. In addition, Roberts Wesleyan junior Acacia Barber (Frewsburg, N.Y.) and Daemen graduate student Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) were selected the ECC Women's Cross Country Preseason Co-Runners of the Year.
The Redhawks earned five of eight first-place votes to outpace Daemen by three points, 61-58, in the poll. Roberts Wesleyan returns five All-Conference honorees in Barber (3rd), ECC Rookie of the Year Rachel Horner-Richardson (4th), Kylee Odell (6th), Zoe Perkins (13th), and Lydia Roselund (14th) from a squad that totaled 26 points at the ECC Championship last fall.
Daemen, who earned the final three first-place votes, was the runner-up in the poll. The Wildcats return a pair of All-Conference performers in Merrill (9th) and Hannah Thomas (10th) from last year's second-place squad. Molloy and St. Thomas Aquinas tied for third.
A two-time All-Conference honoree for Roberts Wesleyan, Barber finished third at last year's ECC Championship to lead the Redhawks to their eighth consecutive team title. Barber went on to place fifth at the NCAA East Region Championship, crossing in a collegiate-best 6k time of 22:31.1 to pace RWU to a second-place team finish on the regional stage.
Also a two-time All-Conference selection, Daemen's Merrill placed ninth at last year's ECC Championship to help Daemen to a runner-up team finish. Merrill turned in five top-ten finishes last fall, including a third-place showing at the Daemen Alumni Invitational, and went on to place 14th at the NCAA East Region Championship in a collegiate-best 6k time of 22:51.1 to lead Daemen to third place. Merrill closed last season on the highest stage, representing the ECC at the NCAA National Championship.
2023 ECC Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. |
| 1. Roberts Wesleyan (5) | 61 |
| 2. Daemen (3) | 58 |
| T-3. Molloy | 42 |
| T-3. St. Thomas Aquinas | 42 |
| 5. District of Columbia | 26 |
| 6. Queens | 23 |
| 7. D'Youville | 22 |
| 8. Staten Island | 14 |
() - first place votes
Women's Cross Country Preseason Co-Runners of the Year: Acacia Barber, Jr., Roberts Wesleyan and Courtney Merrill, Gr., Daemen
