SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Gonzaga men's cross country team were ranked third in the annual West Coast Conference preseason poll, while the Zag women were fourth. The conference released the preseason coaches' polls and teams Friday.

Gonzaga women's runners Jessica Mildes and Jordan Thurston were selected to the All-WCC Preseason Team, while Troy Fraley represented the Bulldogs on the men's team. Fraley will redshirt this season.

"Troy will be working on another degree and felt better about redshirting this fall," Director of GU Cross Country Pat Tyson said. "This season, he will focus on academics and helping his teammates get stronger! He will run indoor and outdoor track, and then come back in the fall of 2017 even stronger!"

Last season, Fraley was named All-WCC First Team after a ninth place finish at the West Coast Conference Championships in Spokane. He crossed the line at 25:12.5. He then was named All-West Region after placing 23rd at the regional championships with a time of 31:39.9. Fraley placed in the top-25 in all seven races during in his junior season, including the top-10 in five meets. The Kalispell, Mont. native, is the program record holder over a 10,000-meter course (30:16) and is second all-time at GU over an 8,000-meter course (23:39).

Mildes is also coming off of an All-Region season. She placed 21st at the West Regionals with a time of 21:09.4. The senior was named First Team All-Conference after a third-place finish at the WCC Championships at 21:10.4. Thurston was also First Team All-WCC last year with a seventh-place finish at the conference championships (21:20.4).

Mildes and Thurston were both key in helping the Zags win the WCC title last season. It was the second first-place finish in program history and first in 20 years. GU placed sixth at regionals and qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time. The Bulldogs finished 25th at nationals and ended the season ranked No. 27 in the country.

Mildes and Thurston are the fifth and sixth Zags to be named to the women's preseason All-WCC team, while Fraley becomes only third GU men's runner to earn the honor. Nick Roche and Chris Boyle were the first two in 2014 and 2010.

The Gonzaga men were slated third in this year's preseason poll, exactly where it finished last season. The Zag women were slated fourth for the second straight season.

On the women's side, No. 20 San Francisco enters the 2016 season as the top-rated women's team in the West Coast Conference and was tabbed championship frontrunners in the preseason coaches' poll. The Dons advanced to NCAA Nationals after posting a fifth place finish at the West Regionals in 2015.

San Francisco was a unanimous pick, collecting the maximum 81 points, including nine first-place votes. Defending 2015 WCC co-champion No. 27 BYU was second with 70 points, followed by Portland with 67 votes, including the remaining first-place vote. On the preseason team, BYU and San Francisco paced the pack with three picks.

The defending conference champion BYU men, collected 64 points including the maximum eight first place votes, while perennial conference power, No. 23 Portland captured 57 points. Gonzaga earned 48 points for third place and picked up the remaining first place vote. BYU led the way with five All-WCC preseason team selections.

Gonzaga hosts the University of Idaho in a dual meet at Mead High School on Sept. 17. Admission is free to the event, which begins with the women's 5K race at 10 a.m., followed by the men's 6K at 10:45.