TAMPA, Fla. — Five-time defending champion SCAD Savannah will open the 2026 season as the favorite in Sun Conference women’s cross country, earning 48 points and six first-place votes in the annual poll of the league’s eight head coaches.
The Bees captured their fifth consecutive conference championship last November, scoring 33 points to finish 11 points ahead of runner-up Southeastern. Ave Maria followed in third place with 57 points.
SCAD continued its postseason run with a 21st-place finish among 36 teams at the NAIA Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida. Talia Sullivan placed 11th nationally in 21:37.9, setting a SCAD program record and earning All-America honors for the second consecutive season.
The Sun Conference was also represented nationally by four individual qualifiers. Warner’s Amirah Johnson led that group by placing 123rd, while Southeastern’s Joslyn Armstrong and Izzy Colebank and Ave Maria’s Madison Thomas also competed.
Ave Maria and Southeastern share second place in the 2026 preseason poll with 40 points and one first-place vote apiece. The result sets up another close race between the two programs after Southeastern finished 13 points ahead of Ave Maria at last year’s conference championship.
St. Thomas was selected fourth with 30 points. Keiser follows infifth with 23 points, holding a one-point advantage over sixth-place Warner.
New College of Florida earned 12 points to place seventh, while Webber International rounds out the eight-team poll with eight points.
| 2026 Sun Conference Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll |
| Rank |
Team |
Points
(first-place votes) |
| 1 |
SCAD |
48 (6) |
| T2 |
Ave Maria |
40 (1) |
| T2 |
Southeastern |
40 (1) |
| 4 |
St. Thomas |
30 |
| 5 |
Keiser |
23 |
| 6 |
Warner |
22 |
| 7 |
New College of Florida |
12 |
| 8 |
Webber International |
8 |
Key Links
ABOUT THE SUN CONFERENCE
Now in its 36th year, The Sun Conference — a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1990 — is a leading member of the NAIA. The league’s 10 full-member institutions across Florida and Georgia compete in 24 championship sports. Under Commissioner Dustin Wilke, The Sun continues to raise the standard in collegiate athletics. Learn more at thesunconference.com.
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