<p>The San Francisco State women’s cross country team, which opens its season Saturday in the USF Inviational at Golden Gate Park, is ranked ninth in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division II West Region preseason poll. Shannon Weston, a senior from Arcata, is the top returning Gators runner for coach Tom Lyons. SFSU finished fifth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association meet last season.
Also expected to be a big contributor is senior Crista Phillips, sophomore Tanya Ferreira and junior Vera Ross, who was a junior college All-American last year at Diablo Valley College.
Seattle Pacific is the No. 1 team, while Cal State-Los Angeles, Chico State, UC San Diego and Central Washington round out the top five. Alaska-Anchorage checks in at No. 6, followed by Western Oregon, Cal State Stanislaus, SFSU and Cal State Bernardino.