After finishing in third place at the 2008 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Championships, University of St. Francis finds itself slated to finish in the same spot in 2009 according to a vote of league coaches announced on Tuesday.

Defending champion Saint Xavier University collected seven of nine first-place votes for 66 total points with Illinois Institute of Technology a close second with its 61 votes, including one first-place nod.

The Saints gained 49 votes with Trinity Christian College (48 votes) and Olivet Nazarene University (47) right on their heels. The latter also picked up one first-place vote as it looks to regain the title from the Cougars after not being able to field a full squad in 2008.

USF's top two returnees in 2009 were both all-conference selections last year in senior Meghan Bannatz (Novi H.S./Novi, MI) and junior Brittany McAllister (Plainfield South H.S./Crest Hill, IL).

The Saints open up their season on Sept. 4 at the Elmhurst College Earlybird Invitational.