Men's Cross Country Puts Three on Watch List

GREENWOOD, IND. -- The Defiance College men's cross country team added three runners to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason "Runners to Watch" list on Wednesday.

Junior Daren Gies (Plymouth) leads the list of runners to make the watch list, as he looks to build off of his 2016 campaign in the purple and gold. As a sophomore, Gies had a personal best of 33:11 for eight kilometers in an injury-riddled campaign.

Gies is joined on the list by a pair of newcomers to the DC cross country program, in sophomore Aubrey Griggs (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Smith Academy) and freshman Tyler Hines (Cincinnati/Northwest).

The Yellow Jackets were picked to finish ninth in the HCAC in the preseason coaches poll with 20 points. They were selected to beat Mount St. Joseph, who had 15 points in the poll. 

Rose-Hulman was picked as the favorite to win the conference title with 98 points and eight first place votes. They were followed by Manchester and Hanover, who each garnered a first-place vote, as well.

The DC herriers are set to begin their 2017 season at the Bluffton University "Back to the Nature Preserve" Invitational. Their six-kilometer race is scheduled to start at 6:45 p.m.