New Orleans – The University of Lynchburg men's cross country team begins the 2026 campaign ranked 24th in the USTFCCCA Preseason National Coach's Poll and 22nd in the DIII Glory Days preseason rankings, while the men's and women's teams earn top-five positions in the South Region poll.

Men's Rankings

The Lynchburg men secure a spot in the national preseason poll for the sixth consecutive year after finishing 26th at the 2025 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. The Hornets occupy second in the NCAA South Region poll behind Washington & Lee, who won the 2025 team title.

Four teams from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference claim a top-10 position in the regional poll, with Roanoke in fourth and Shenandoah in 10th.

During the offseason, the men's team added Division I transfers Ty Blair and Caden Strickland, who competed for Eastern Kentucky and Elon, respectively. On the track, Blair was a consistent scorer for the Colonels at the conference level, while Strickland posted several program top-10 marks for the Phoenix.

In addition, the Hornets return five of their seven athletes who competed at last year's NCAA Championships. Excluding incoming transfers, 12 first-year Hornets will join the men's team for the 2026 season.

Women's Rankings

The women's team owns fifth place in the USTFCCCA South Region rankings entering the season, one of three ODAC teams selected in the top 10. Washington & Lee opens the 2026 campaign ranked second, while Shenandoah occupies eighth.

The Hornets add eight new faces on the women's side, including transfer Kami Wlodyka who previously competed for Springfield College. Lynchburg returns three athletes who competed at the 2025 NCAA South Region Championships, not including Adelynn Carpenter, who missed the race due to injury.

At the 2025 ODAC Championships, four Hornets placed inside the top 21 to receive All-ODAC honors, headlined by Delaney Saulsbury's 11th-place finish.

During the postseason, the winning team from each regional championship will receive an automatic bid to compete at the 2026 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Northfield, Minn. 22 additional teams on the men's and women's sides will receive at-large bids to complete the 32-team field.

Director of Cross Country & Track & Field Mario Wilson will prepare the Hornets to make their season debut at the Virginia Tech Invitational on Friday, Sept. 4 at 6:00 p.m. 

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--LYN--