BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University men's cross country team was picked to finish fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference's preseason cross country coaches poll, released Thursday.

The Govs received 52 points in the poll and were picked behind Eastern Kentucky (81 points), Eastern Illinois (71) and Southeast Missouri (65). Austin Peay was picked to finish ahead of Morehead State (45), UT Martin (38), Tennessee Tech (35), Jacksonville State (32), Murray State (22) and Tennessee State (nine).

Austin Peay returns nearly every runner from last season's squad that posted a fifth-place finish in the OVC Championship - the program's best finish since 1999. However, that loss was Enock Langat, the program's top finisher throughout the 2010 campaign, including a team-best  11th-place finish in the championship. The Govs do return junior Geofrey Kosgei who is among the OVC's top 10 returning finishers from last season's championship, posting a 16th-place finish.

"It's really not surprising that EKU is picked number one as they won the men's championship and they have almost everyone back," said Govs head coach Doug Molnar. "We have only lost one runner and that is a big loss in Langat, but we will have to overcome that. It should be an interesting year in the OVC as there have been a number of coaching changes. It all comes down to the last weekend in October."

Austin Peay opens its 2011 schedule at the Belmont Opener, Sept. 2, at Nashville's Percy Warner Park. The 2011 Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championships will be held Oct. 29 in Richmond, Ky. with Eastern Kentucky serving as the host.

-AP-