High Point Voted Favorite in Annual Preseason Women's Outdoor Track & Field Poll
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Five-time defending Big South Champion
High Point University has been voted the top team in the annual Big South Conference Women’s Outdoor Track & Field preseason poll, as voted by the league’s head coaches and announced Thursday afternoon by the conference office. The Panthers were a near unanimous selection to repeat as champion this season with seven of the eight first-place votes and 63 of the possible 64 points.
Charleston Southern was second to High Point with 57 points, as the Bucs received the remaining first-place vote.
Radford landed in the third position with 48 points, and
Gardner-Webb claimed fourth with 38 points.
UNC Asheville finished fifth in the polling with 33 points, followed by
USC Upstate in sixth (22 points) and
Winthrop in seventh (18 points).
Longwood received the eighth and final spot (nine points).
The 2026 women’s outdoor track & field season begins this weekend, March 13-15, and concludes with the 2026 Big South Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship, May 11-13 at Vert Stadium on the campus of High Point University in High Point, N.C.
2026 BIG SOUTH WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD PRESEASON POLL
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - High Point (7) |
63 |
| 2 - Charleston Southern (1) |
57 |
| 3 - Radford |
48 |
| 4 - Gardner-Webb |
38 |
| 5 - UNC Asheville |
33 |
| 6 - USC Upstate |
22 |
| 7 - Winthrop |
18 |
| 8 - Longwood |
9 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system. First-place votes received 8 points, followed by 7 points for second-place, and so on.