BOSTON – As the Suffolk cross country teams prep for the 2015 GNAC Championships this weekend, the GNAC has released the championship coaches' poll Thursday morning. The Rams' men's squad has been picked sixth, while the women were selected eighth.

The 2015 GNAC Cross Country Championships, which will be hosted by Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Halloween in Standish, Maine, will get underway with a 1 p.m. women's 5k, followed by the men's 8k race at 2 p.m.

In the women's poll, Suffolk finished with 39 points putting the Rams in a tie for eighth with the AMCATs of Anna Maria. Suffolk finished ahead of Rivier (31) and Mount Ida (23). Emmanuel received 105 points overall to take the top spot, receiving one first-place vote and nine second-place votes, with the defending GNAC Champion Norwich just off the pace with 103 points and seven first-place nods for second. Johnson & Wales (98) took third, the host Saint Joseph's (Maine) (85) and Simmons (82) round out the top contenders.

On the men's side, Suffolk's 31 points put the Rams in sixth ahead of Rivier (28), Anna Maria (19) and Mount Ida (14). Johnson & Wales, the defending conference champ, was picked as the favorite, receiving four first-place votes for 76 points, finishing four points ahead of second-place Norwich, which garnered three first-place nods and 72 points overall.  Emmanuel and Saint Joseph's (Maine) finished third and fourth, respectively, with 59 and 56 points. Both institutions collected a first-place vote from fellow coaches, while Lasell finished fifth in the men's ledger with 50 points.