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BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech men’s and women’s cross country teams were both picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference this upcoming season according to a vote conducted by the league’s head coaches and released Thursday.

Reigning national champion Syracuse was picked to win the league on the men’s side. The Orangemen, who are the preseason No. 1-ranked team in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll, were a unanimous choice after having won the ACC in each of the past three seasons.

Virginia was picked to finish second followed by NC State, Louisville and the Hokies, who lost standout Thomas Curtin and steady Darren Barlow off last season’s squad. Tech does return seniors Stuart Robertson, Patrick Joseph and Neil Gourley along with last year’s ACC Freshman of the Year in Peter Seufer.

On the women’s side, NC State was picked to win the ACC and enters the season ranked fifth nationally in the USTFCCCA poll. Virginia, the defending ACC champion, was picked to finish second followed by Notre Dame, Syracuse and the Hokies.

The Tech women’s team returns nearly its entire roster and will be led by seniors Abigail Motley, Shannon Morton and Hanna Green. Sophomore Lauren Berman, who recorded four top-45 finishes as a freshman, and junior Katie Kennedy also add talent to a group that, like the men’s team, harbors hopes of making it to the NCAA Championships later this fall.

Both Tech squads begin its quests toward that goal Friday evening when the school serves as the host for the Hokie Invite at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course. The competition begins with the women’s 4K race at 6 p.m., followed by the men’s 6K race at 6:45 p.m.

Here is the 2016 ACC cross country predicted order of finish by the league head coaches:

MEN

1. Syracuse

2. Virginia

3. NC State

4. Louisville

5. Virginia Tech

6. Florida State

7. Notre Dame

8. North Carolina

9. Duke

10. Clemson

11. Georgia Tech

12. Wake Forest

13. Pitt

14. Boston College

15. Miami

WOMEN

1. NC State

2. Virginia

3. Notre Dame

4. Syracuse

5. Virginia Tech

6. Florida State

7. Boston College

8. Pitt

9. North Carolina

10. Duke

11. Clemson

12. Wake Forest

13. Louisville

14. Georgia Tech

15. Miami

For updates on Virginia Tech cross country, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Track