RICHARDSON, Texas --- West Texas A&M is projected to defend its Lone Star Conference women's cross country title in 2024 preseason polling of head coaches and sports information staff announced Thursday (Aug. 29) by the conference.
 
The Lady Buffs totaled 444 points with 25 first-place votes to list first in the 2024 preseason poll. After four straight runner-up showings, WT broke through last season to claim its third overall LSC women's cross country championship. DBU, who owns three of the last four LSC titles, tallied four first-place votes and 416 points for the No. 2 spot in the poll. Midwestern State (355 pts.), St. Edward's (322), Oklahoma Christian (318) and Angelo State (283, 1 first-place vote) finished in the No. 3 through No. 6 spots.
 
Lubbock Christian (247), Cameron (234), Western New Mexico (206) and UT Tyler (199) complete the predicted top 10 teams followed by Texas A&M International (169), Texas A&M-Kingsville (168), Eastern New Mexico (114), UT Permian Basin (84) and LSC newcomer Sul Ross State (41).
 
Women's cross country Runners to Watch in 2024 includes returning all-conference, all-region and academic team honorees among the 29 athletes.
 
Leading the watch list is a trio of top 10 finishers at last season's LSC Championship, led by runner-up Elise Leveel (Carquebut, France), a junior from West Texas A&M who claimed all-conference and all-region awards. DBU duo senior Jenna Howard (Erie, Colo.) and sophomore Lesli Salas (San Angelo, Texas) placed fourth and seventh, respectively, at the LSC meet with Salas adding an All-South Central Region finish.
 
 
All-conference returners -- Lubbock Christian senior Madelyn Merrell (Idalou, Texas) and Midwestern State junior Ella Pando (Weatherford, Texas) – join 2023 LSC Women's Cross Country Academic Athlete of the Year Ivanova Yanes (Hollywood, Fla.), a junior from Texas A&M-Kingsville, and All-Academic Itzela Darkenwald (Conroe, Texas), Western New Mexico senior, among Runners to Watch.

 
Lone Star Conference women's teams open the 2024 cross country season over the September 5-7 weekend. The LSC Championships are set for Saturday, October 26 hosted by Texas A&M-Kingsville (Kingsville, Texas). The NCAA Division II postseason starts November 9 at the South Central Regional hosted by MSU Denver and closes with the national championship November 23 in Sacramento, Calif.
 
 
LSC Women's Cross Country 2024 Preseason Poll
As voted by head coaches and sports information staff
 

Rank	Team (1st pl. votes)	Pts.
1	West Texas A&M (25)	444
2	DBU (4)	416
3	Midwestern State	355
4	St. Edward's	322
5	Oklahoma Christian	318
6	Angelo State (1)	283
7	Lubbock Christian	247
8	Cameron	234
9	Western New Mexico	206
10	UT Tyler	199
11	Texas A&M International	169
12	Texas A&M-Kingsville	168
13	Eastern New Mexico	114
14	UT Permian Basin	84
15	Sul Ross State	41

 
 
LSC Women's Cross Country 2024 Runners to Watch
Submitted by each team
 

Athlete	Team	Cl.	Major	Hometown
Mary Brown	Angelo State	Sr	Kinesiology	Georgetown, Texas
Manon Cady	Cameron	Fr	Sports and Exercise Science	Angers, France
Kaat de Staercke	Cameron	Fr	Business Administration	Zemst, Belgium
Jenna Howard	DBU	Sr	Elementary Education	Erie, Colo.
Lesli Salas	DBU	So	Commercial Art	San Angelo, Texa
Sylvia Lagat	Eastern New Mexico	Fr	Biology	Eldoret, Kenya
Elizabeth Lujan-Towles	Eastern New Mexico	Fr	Visual Art	Chimayo, N.M.
Madelyn Merrell	Lubbock Christian	Sr	Biology	Idalou, Texas
Chloe Trull	Lubbock Christian	Sr	Pre-Veterinary, AgriBusiness	Ropesville, Texas
Jadyn Dangerfield	Midwestern State	Jr	Computer Science	Lancaster, Texas
Ella Pando	Midwestern State	Jr	Biology	Weatherford, Texas
Andrea Garcia Gonzalez	Oklahoma Christian	Sr	Finance	Leon, Spain
Kinley Kite	Oklahoma Christian	Fr	Early Childhood Education	Norman, Okla.
Mia Rivera	St. Edward's	Jr	Kinesiology	El Paso, Texas
Jordan Sanders	St. Edward's	Sr	Kinesiology	Keller, Texas
Alexandra Nava-Elizondo	Sul Ross State	Fr	Animal Science	Baytown, Texas
Sada Lara	Sul Ross State	Fr	Kinesiology/Human Perform.	O'Donnell, Texas
Mercy Kosgei	Texas A&M International	Fr	Nursing	Eldoret, Kenya
Maya Espinosa	Texas A&M-Kingsville	Sr	Business	Baker, Fla.
Ivanova Yanes	Texas A&M-Kingsville	Jr	Kinesiology	Hollywood, Fla.
Alauna Stackhouse	UT Permian Basin	Gr	Humanities	Brenham, Texas
Kayla Cepeda	UT Permian Basin	Jr	Exercise Science	Mission, Texas
Elayna Metzger	UT Tyler	Jr	Kinesiology	Tyler, Texas
Calista Turner	UT Tyler	Fr	Economics	Athens, Texas
Elise Leveel	West Texas A&M	Jr	Communications	Carquebut, France
Julie LaFare	West Texas A&M	Jr	Business	Uzes, France
Itzela Darkenwald	Western New Mexico	Sr	Kinesiology	Conroe, Texas
Aubrey Lozoya	Western New Mexico	Jr	Zoology	Albuquerque, N.M.