CARMEL, Ind. – With the 2023 fall semester quickly approaching, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) announced its preseason poll and "Athletes to Watch" listing for men's cross country on Thursday, August 17. 

2023 HCAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll & Athletes to Watch

The Fightin' Engineers of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology earned the confidence of the coaches, taking first with 80 points and eight first-place votes. 

The Spartans were picked second in Thursday's preseason poll with 69 points and two first place votes, narrowly beating out Franklin College in third place with 64 points. The Transylvania University Pioneers (53) and the Hanover College Panthers (52) rounded out the top half of the poll.

Four Spartans were named as "Athletes" by the league office on Thursday afternoon, including Gavin Byerly (Huntington, Ind., Huntington North), Connor Havens (LaPorte, Ind., LaPorte), Brenden Oden (New Carlisle, Ind., New Prairie), and Enrique Salazar (Plymouth, Ind., Plymouth). 

Manchester will host their Alumni Meet on August 26 before traveling to Shelbyville, Ind. to compete in the Grizzly Invitational on September 2 to begin the 2023 season.

The 2023 HCAC Cross Country Championships are slated for Saturday, October 28.