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By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings August 26. 2015 8:39PM SOU men's cross country team ranked No. 1 in preseason coaches' poll The Southern Oregon University men's cross country team is making a habit of debuting atop the preseason coaches' poll. The Raiders for the fourth time in five years earned the top ranking in the inaugural NAIA Top 25 poll Wednesday, receiving 17 of 19 first-place votes after finishing second at the 2014 NAIA Championships. The SOU women's team, which placed 18th at nationals last season, is ranked No. 14 in the preseason rankings while Cascade Conference rival Northwest Christian is No. 1, Oregon Tech No. 8 and College of Idaho No. 11. The Southern Oregon men's team, which has placed second at nationals the last three years and in the top three every year since 2008, was a unanimous pick to win the Cascade Conference. The Raiders, who are led by All-American Jared Hixon and 5,000-meter outdoor track champion Dylan Alexander, were also ranked No. 1 to start the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons. The Raider women, led by Rebecca Lupescu, were ranked fourth in the CCC preseason coaches' poll. Oregon Tech is No. 8 and College of Idaho No. 12. The SOU men and women open the season Sept. 18 at the Cascade Conference Preview Meet in Salem. Women's Volleyball The 16th-ranked Southern Oregon Raiders, already off to a 4-0 start, will be going for the program's 1,000th victory Friday against California Merced in the California Merced Invitational at Merced, Calif. If the Raiders don't cash in on their first opportunity to hit quadruple digits they'll get two more Saturday against Menlo and San Diego Christian. "Having been around the program for so many years, I've been around so many coaches and athletes that have come and gone and made this a very solid program, so it's pretty special," said SOU head coach Josh Rohlfing, whose teams have been responsible for 181 victories. "It's just one of those marks that's hard to come by and says a lot about how successful the program has been before me and, I believe, how successful it'll continue to be." http://www.dailytidings.com/article/20150826/SPORTS/150829862 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->