SAN BRUNO, Calif. -- The Santa Clara University men's and women's cross country teams were picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference cross country race in the 2002 WCC preseason poll, as selected by the conference coaches.

The top four men's preseason picks were a mirror image of last season's top four WCC Cross Country Championship results. Santa Clara, who finished second to Portland last season, was picked to repeat as runner-up, with San Diego picked third and Pepperdine predicted fourth to round out the top half of the conference. Gonzaga was selected to finish fifth followed by Saint Mary's at sixth, Loyola Marymount at seventh and San Francisco at eighth, respectively.

On the women's side, defending WCC champion, Santa Clara received three first place votes to slide into the second spot, while Pepperdine, who received one first place vote, occupies the third spot, with San Diego predicted to finish fourth. Saint Mary's finished fifth last season and was predicted to do the same in 2002, while Gonzaga, who finished eighth in 2001, is predicted to finish sixth followed by San Francisco and Loyola Marymount tabbed to finish seventh and eighth.

"We really have a competitive schedule and I like the way it sets our team up for a great run when it counts in November," said Tom Service, who led the Bronco women to the WCC title and was named the league coach of the year in 2001. "We have a really strong group of runners who have the desire to compete at a high level and I am really expecting good things from our team this year. I'm confident that we'll be right in the thick of things when we get to the WCC championships."