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Aug 9- The Portland men146;s and women146;s cross country teams were tabbed the favorites to win the West Coast Conference Cross Country Championship in the 00 WCC preseason poll, as selected by the conference coaches

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Aug. 9- The Portland men146;s and women146;s cross country teams were tabbed the favorites to win the West Coast Conference Cross Country Championship in the 00 WCC preseason poll, as selected by the conference coaches. The Pilots146; men146;s team was unanimously selected, by the seven other conference coaches, to finish first, while their female counterparts edged Santa Clara by one point to claim the top spot in this year146;s poll.lt;pgt; The top four men146;s preseason picks were a mirror image of last season146;s top four WCC Cross Country Championship results. Santa Clara, who finished second to Portland last season, was picked to repeat as runner-up, with San Diego picked third and Pepperdine predicted fourth to round out the top half of the conference. Gonzaga was selected to finish fifth followed by Saint Mary146;s at sixth, Loyola Marymount at seventh and San Francisco at eighth, respectively.lt;pgt; On the women146;s side, defending WCC champion, Santa Clara received three first place votes to slide into the second spot, while Pepperdine, who received one first place vote, occupies the third spot, with San Diego predicted to finish fourth. Saint Mary146;s finished fifth last season and was predicted to do the same in 00, while Gonzaga, who finished eighth in 001, is predicted to finish sixth followed by San Francisco and Loyola Marymount tabbed to finish seventh and eighth.lt;pgt; The Portland men are seeking an unprecedented 4th straight cross country title in 00. Leading the way for the Pilots is junior Jeff Driscoll, sophomore Matt Harriman and 001 WCC Champion and Freshman of the Year Nick Schuetze. With Schuetze claiming the individual crown in 001, Portland has boasted the WCC Champion for the last 3 years.lt;pgt; The Portland women146;s squad has been nearly as impressive as the men146;s team, claiming 1 of the last 17 WCC championships. The Santa Clara Broncos claimed their first WCC cross country title in 001, led by WCC Freshman of the Year, Robin Bell. lt;Pgt;