Furman Picked to Repeat in SoCon Cross Country Polls
Both Paladin Teams Will Compete for Their 14th Consecutive Team Title
SPARTANBURG, SC – The Southern Conference announced the predicted order of finish for the 2026 Cross Country season Thursday afternoon, with Furman picked to repeat on both sides.
The conference’s 11 head coaches voted in the poll and were not allowed to vote for their own school.
The Paladins will chase their 14th consecutive team title in women’s cross country and men’s cross country, with the 2026 Tryon Southern Conference Cross Country Championships, presented by Ingles, set for October 31 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Tryon, North Carolina.
The consecutive win streaks for each Furman team (13) are the longest in SoCon history for cross country.
Furman garnered 98 points and eight first-place votes to sit atop the women’s poll. Mercer (81 points) and Samford (73 points) also garnered at least one first-place vote to slot just behind the defending champion. The Paladins return eight runners who competed in last season’s SoCon Championship, led by individual champion Tessa Walter. Walter won last season’s championship race with a time of 17:03.70 as a freshman, edging classmate Nysa Males by just under six seconds.
The Paladins picked up 100 points and the most possible first-place votes on the men’s side, followed by ETSU (79 points) and UNC Greensboro (74 points). Furman welcomes back five runners who competed in Tryon last season, with Chris Knight the top returning finisher after taking bronze last November.
ETSU returns 2025 SoCon Runner of the Year Jason Bowers to their lineup. Bowers won ETSU’s first individual title since 1995 with a time of 23:44.30 – beating the field by more than 30 seconds.
The 2026 regular season begins this weekend, with all teams set to run on September 4 or 5.
2026 SoCon Women’s Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Furman (8) - 98
2. Mercer (2) - 81
3. Samford (1) - 73
4. Chattanooga - 70
5. Western Carolina - 62
6. Tennessee Tech - 59
7. ETSU - 56
8. UNC Greensboro - 39
9. VMI - 32
10. Wofford - 21
11. The Citadel - 14
-
2026 SoCon Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Furman (10) - 100
2. ETSU (1) - 79
3. UNC Greensboro - 74
4. Chattanooga - 68
5. Samford - 57
6. Tennessee Tech - 53
7. Mercer - 51
8. Western Carolina - 49
9. VMI - 34
10. The Citadel - 21
11. Wofford - 19