GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman women’s cross country team is ranked 14th by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), and the Paladin men are ranked 30th, according to the preseason national rankings released Tuesday.

The Paladin women, five-time defending Southern Conference Champions, return seven of their top eight competitors from last year, including junior Savannah Carnahan, the 2016 SoCon Freshman of the Year, who claimed a spot on the All-SoCon first team after placing third at the league meet last year. Carnahan is joined by All-SoCon first team selections Gabrielle Jennings and Grace Dwyer, plus juniors Emma Grace Hurley and Riley Burr who earned All-SoCon second team accolades after recording top-10 finishes at the championships last season. Sophomore Krissy Gear, the 2017 SoCon Freshman of the Year, and junior Jennifer Stephenson, complete the Paladin slate of returnees.

The Furman men, who also have won five-consecutive league titles, are led by senior Aaron Templeton, the 2017 SoCon Runner of the Year, who returns after winning the SoCon individual title last season. Sophomore Daniel Bernal, the 2017 SoCon Freshman of the Year, will also return in 2018, along with 2017 All-SoCon selections Mason Coppi, Ryan Adams, and Jake Ogden. Incoming freshman Cameron Ponder joins the team after posting the nation’s top mile time among his graduating class.

“It is a great testimony to our program to lose several very special kids to graduation last year and still be ranked amount the best programs in the country, but we always “think big” and we have every intention of beating those rankings,” said Furman head coach Robert Gary, the 2017 SoCon Coach-of-the-Year and the 2017 Southeast Region Men’s Coach of the Year.

The Paladins open the 2018 season August 31 at the Eye Opener meet in Spartanburg, S.C.