SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's cross country team was picked to finish fourth, while the women were voted seventh in The Southern Conference (SoCon) Preseason Poll, the league announced Wednesday.
ABOUT THE MEN
The Spartan men totaled 56 points, as Furman was selected to take home its 13th-straight title receiving 81 points with nine first-place votes. Western Carolina took the final first-place vote with 65 points, good for second place, while Samford rounded out the top three with 62 points.
Last season, the men kicked off the year with a ninth-place finish out of 14 teams at the adidas XC Challenge and followed that up with another ninth-place finish out of 17 teams at the Pirate Cross Country Invitational.
In both meets, alumnus
Colin Keck finished in the top 50, as junior
Khalid Abdullahi placed in the top-50 in the Pirate Cross Country Invitational.
The men impressed the field during the 2024 SoCon Championships, with the team placing third for its best mark in over 10 years. Keck once again paced the Blue & Gold with a 12
th-place finish out of 80 competitors, earning the best SoCon Championship finish in his career and receiving All-Conference Second Team honors.
Andrew Hamilton and
Luke Ward were the next Spartans to cross the finish line, placing 22
nd and 23
rd, respectively.
Logan Ruffner earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team after taking home 29
th place.
The Spartans then competed in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Southeast Regional Championships, where they finished in 22
nd place out of 33 teams.
The men return 12 from last year's roster and have added five newcomers.
ABOUT THE WOMEN
The Spartan women tallied 36 points, as the Paladins women's squad was also voted to take home their 13th-straight title after receiving 81 points and nine first-place votes.
Last season, the women posted a 10
th-place finish out of 14 teams at the adidas XC Challenge to begin the year.
Later in the season, the Spartans took home fourth place out of seven teams at the Phoenix Invitational, where
Vicky Sosa crossed the finish line third out of 69 competitors.
At the 2024 SoCon Championships, Sosa earned a career-best place, finishing 22
nd out of 84 competitors, while the team took seventh out of 10 teams.
The women return eight from last year's roster and added seven newcomers.
UP NEXT
Both the men's and women's Spartan squads will begin the 2025 cross country season with a dual meet against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Saturday, August 30.
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2025 SoCon Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
| 1. Furman (9) |
81 |
| 2. Western Carolina (1) |
65 |
| 3. Samford |
62 |
| 4. UNC Greensboro |
56 |
| 5. Mercer |
45 |
| 6. ETSU |
42 |
| 7. Chattanooga |
41 |
| 8. VMI |
28 |
| 9. Wofford |
19 |
| 10. The Citadel |
11 |
2025 SoCon Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
| 1. Furman (9) |
81 |
| 2. Samford (1) |
71 |
| 3. Chattanooga |
63 |
| 4. ETSU |
56 |
| 5. Mercer |
46 |
| 6. Western Carolina |
44 |
| 7. UNC Greensboro |
36 |
| 8. VMI |
23 |
| 9. Wofford |
19 |
| 10. The Citadel |
11 |
