SAU Sports Information
The SAU Muleriders and Lady Muleriders have been picked to finish third this season, according to the Great American Conference Track and Field Preseason Coaches Poll that was released Thursday morning.
The GAC Track & Field Championships will be held at SAU during the third weekend in April.
SAU track is in just its fourth season after being revived for competition in the spring of 2015.
Since then, the Muleriders have claimed back-to-back runner-Up finishes at the GAC Championships in 2016 and 2017.
In this season's preseason poll, the Muleriders tallied 25 points to place third.
The two-time defending champion Harding is the preseason favorite after narrowly sliding in front of Oklahoma Baptist for the top spot.
OKB is eligible to compete for the league crown this season after spending its first two years competing strictly for individual titles due to the university's provisional membership with the NCAA.
The Bisons claimed four first place votes and 34 points to edge the Bison's three first place votes and 33 total points.
GAC track and field affiliate members Rogers State (20) and Oklahoma Christian (18) were slotted fourth and fifth, respectively.
Southern Nazarene (10) and East Central (7) rounded out the poll in sixth and seventh, respectively.
To date, the SAU men are the only program in the GAC to have competed in outdoor meets this spring.
The Muleriders have produced a pair of highly successful showings in non-scoring participation at the Marc Randle Classic and the UCA Spring Opener.
The Lady Muleriders were runners-up in the GAC Championships in 2016 and 2017.
In this season's preseason poll, the Lady Muleriders received 36 points to place third. The two-time defending champion Harding is the preseason favorite after receiving five of eight first place votes and 47 points to edge Oklahoma Baptist
Oklahoma Christian (33) and Rogers State (25) were slotted fourth and fifth, respectively.
Southern Nazarene (18), East Central (11), and Southwestern Oklahoma (10) rounded out the poll in sixth through eighth, respectively.
The Lady Muleriders have produced highly successful showings in non-scoring participation at the Marc Randle Classic and the UCA Spring Opener.
This weekend, SAU heads to Lafayette, La., for the highly-competitive Louisiana Classics.
The two-day event will give SAU an opportunity to compete against some of the top collegiate track and field talent in the state of Louisiana.
Men's poll
1...............................Harding
2.....................Okla. Baptist
3.....................................SAU
4......................Rogers State
5.................Okla. Christian
6.........Southern Nazarene
7.......................East Central
Women's poll
1...............................Harding
2.....................Okla. Baptist
3.....................................SAU
4.................Okla. Christian
5......................Rogers State
6.........Southern Nazarene
7.......................East Central
8..................SW Oklahoma