BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Presidents' Athletic Conference released its Pre-Champs Poll on Wednesday in anticipation of the Outdoor PAC Track and Field Championships which will be held this Thursday and Friday at West Virginia University, and both the men and women were selected as the favorite in a vote of the 12 coaches in the conference.  The men received 11 of 12 first place votes, while the women received 10 of 12 first place votes.

Geneva's favorite status is not a surprise considering both the men and women won the Indoor PAC Championships at the end of February.  The men won by 19 points at the meet, while the women edged out heavily favored Grove City by five points.  Geneva is trying to become the first school in PAC history to win both the men's and women's cross country championships, the men's and women's indoor track and field championships, and the men's and women's outdoor track and field championships in the same school year.  The PAC began sponsoring indoor track and field in the 2012-13 season.

The men will face their toughest competition from both Grove City and Westminster, who both have talented and deep squads as well.  The men currently have four events in which they enter with the athlete with the top time or mark in an event.  Sophomore sprinter Abe Konneh has the top time in both the 100m (10.49 seconds) and 200m (20.98 seconds) races, sophomore Ethan Haring has the top time in the 3000m steeplechase (9:33.76) and junior Isaac Nirella has the top height in the pole vault (4.67 meters).

The women will potentially have an even tougher challenge from Grove City and Westminster to win their second PAC Championship of the season.  Early calculations based upon seed times from the outdoor season indicate all three teams could be separated by less than five points, which means it will require another optimal effort from the women to pull out another victory, just like they did at the indoor championships.  The women have three athletes at the top of the performance lists entering the championship meet.  Senior Hailey Carroll has the top time in the 1500m (4:30.12), junior Daphne Alexander has the top mark in the high jump (1.70 meters) and senior Allison Standish has the top mark in the hammer throw (48.15 meters).

The meet starts on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. with the men's and women's pole vault event.  Additional field events on Thursday include women's hammer throw, men's and women's javelin and men's and women's triple jump.  Track events on Thursday will include the preliminaries for the men's and women's 100m and 100m/110m hurdles, along with the 3000m steeplechase and the 10000m race.  Friday is when the bulk of the events will occur, beginning at 12:30 p.m., with the meet scheduled to finish around 5:00 p.m.

There is no admission for the meet, but there will be a $5 parking charge for those attending the meet.  Live results can be followed at https://live.mountaintiming.com/meets/71007.