Bridgewater, NJ - The Northeast Conference has released their men's cross country preseason poll with Mercyhurst coming in eighth in the NEC. The Lakers will face a new challenge this year as they take on their first season as a Division I program with fifth year head coach, Mike Williamson.

After finishing 13th in the PSAC last season, Mercyhurst hopes to establish themselves as a strong force in the NEC. They had a successful season overall last year, coming in 3rd at Race in the Park, 23rd at the Lock Haven Invitational, and 6th at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational. In hopes of having success in the new conference, the Lakers return their consistent top runner, Alec Bidwell. He had an extremely successful season last year and hopes to continue these victories this season at the Division I level.

Last year, Bidwell was named to the PSAC All-Conference Team thanks to his 11th-place finish in the PSAC Championships. Bidwell also set new program records for both 8k and 10k races during the season with his times of 24:51.6 at the Lock Haven Invitational and the 31:17 he ran at NCAA Atlantic Regionals. The Lakers begin their season at the Father Bede Invitational on Saturday, August 31st.