MELBOURNE, FL – First-year Moccasin head coach Stephanie Bylander will have her team ranked fourth in the Sunshine State Conference in the league's inaugural women's cross country coaches poll. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University was chosen as the top team in 2018 poll as the Eagles received 56 total votes and five first-place votes.

Florida Southern picked up 48 points in the poll and received one first-place vote. The Moccasins took fifth place in last year's SSC Championship behind Hannah Nelson and Hannah Flemming who finished 15th and 16th, respectively.

VIDEO: 2018 Cross Country Season Outlook interviews with head coaches / Interview with Stephanie Bylander

Embry-Riddle is one-for-one in SSC women's cross country championships after securing the 2017 title in their first year of eligibility. The Eagles went on to finish second of six SSC squads at the regional, third overall. Saint Leo won the south region championship and along with Embry-Riddle advanced to the NCAA National Meet. The Lions and Eagles finished 21st and 26th overall at the national meet.

Saint Leo University edges the University of Tampa for second place in the poll. The Lions received 52 total votes and two first-place votes, while the Spartans brought in 51 total votes and one first-place vote. Florida Southern College finished just three votes behind Tampa and secured the final first-place vote. Florida Tech rounds out the top five with 35 total votes.

The Moccasins' 2018 season gets underway on Saturday, August 31 as Florida Southern competes in the Holloway Park Preseason Festival in Lakeland. The postseason begins with the 2018 Sunshine State Conference Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 3 on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. Florida Southern will host the NCAA South Regional on Saturday, November 17 at Holloway Park in Lakeland. The NCAA Finals will be held Saturday, December 1 at Cooper's Lake Campground in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.