Conference Carolinas
Brian Hand
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The conference office officially unveiled the preseason poll on Dec. 3, 2020. The preseason poll was voted on by the league’s head coaches.
Emmanuel received four first-place votes and a total of 76 points to claim the top spot in the preseason tally ahead of Mount Olive. Winners of eight straight Conference Carolinas Men’s Cross Country Championships, Mount Olive (71) received five first-place votes, but were five points behind Emmanuel overall due to receiving two fifth-place votes. Emmanuel did not receive lower than a second-place vote.
Lees-McRae (55) was third in the preseason poll followed by North Greenville (53). King (47) was fifth followed by Erskine (38) and Belmont Abbey (38), who tied for sixth in the preseason poll. Barton (32) was eighth in the preseason poll, but the Bulldogs did receive the final first-place vote. Southern Wesleyan (30) and Chowan (10) closed out the voting in the preseason poll.
The 2020-21 Conference Carolinas Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships are scheduled to be held at Frank Liske Park in Concord, North Carolina on Friday, Jan. 29, 2021.
2020-21 Conference Carolinas
Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll
| School | First Place | Total |
| Emmanuel | 4 | 76 |
| Mount Olive | 5 | 71 |
| Lees-McRae | 55 | |
| North Greenville | 53 | |
| King | 47 | |
| Belmont Abbey | 38 | |
| Erskine | 38 | |
| Barton | 1 | 32 |
| Southern Wesleyan | 30 | |
| Chowan | 10 |
2020-21 Conference Carolinas Men’s Cross Country
Runners to Watch
Barton
DeShawn Owens, Jr., Pikeville, North Carolina
Belmont Abbey
Thomas Thierfelder, So., Gastonia, North Carolina
Sam Lynch, Sr., Alpharetta, Georgia
Jose Hernandez, Fr., Burlington, North Carolina
Chowan
Elijah Hill, Jr., Birmingham, Alabama
Rayvon McKoy, So., Richmond, Virginia
Emmanuel
Shane Shelafoe, So., Maysville, Georgia (2019 All-Conference Carolinas, 2019 Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year)
Erskine
Noah Woodbury, Fr., Summerville, South Carolina
Jonathan Penter, So., Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Steven Chappell, Fr., Easley, South Carolina
King
Blaine Metcalf, Jr., Morristown, Tennessee
Josh Booher, So., Bristol, Virginia
Jesus Pacheco, So., Morristown, Tennessee
Lees-McRae
Tristin Bertie, Sr., Cleveland, Georgia (2019 All-Conference Carolinas)
Garrett Ybarra, Jr., San Antonio, Texas
Elias Zajicek, So., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mount Olive
Cas Kopmels, So., Leiden, Netherlands
Luis Hernandez Perez, Fr., Rocky Point, North Carolina
Aidan Gilbride, Sr., East Kilbride, Scotland
North Greenville
Victor Shellhammer, Jr., Summerville, South Carolina (2019 All-Conference Carolinas)
Jacob Holcombe, Jr., Walhalla, South Carolina
Southern Wesleyan
Konner Palacios, Sr., Powdersville, South Carolina
Peyton Shelton, Jr., Columbus, Indiana