High Point Voted 2026 Women's Cross Country Preseason Favorite
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Nine-time defending Big South women’s cross country champion High Point University has been voted the favorite in the conference’s annual preseason poll by the league’s head coaches, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Radford finished fourth in the voting with 53 points, ahead of
Longwood, which placed fifth in the poll with 49 points.
Winthrop landed in the sixth position with 35 points, followed by
USC Upstate (seventh-place, 25 points),
Gardner-Webb (eighth-place, 20 points) and
Presbyterian College (ninth-place, 13 points) to round out the preseason rankings.
The women’s cross country season begins Friday, Sept. 4. The 2026 Big South Women’s Cross Country Championship is slated for Friday, Oct. 30, in Spartanburg, S.C., and will be hosted by USC Upstate.
2026 BIG SOUTH WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON POLL
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - High Point (6) |
76 |
| 2 - Charleston Southern (3) |
69 |
| 3 - UNC Asheville |
65 |
| 4 - Radford |
53 |
| 5 - Longwood |
49 |
| 6 - Winthrop |
35 |
| 7 - USC Upstate |
25 |
| 8 - Gardner-Webb |
20 |
| 9 - Presbyterian College |
13 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system, with first-place votes receiving 9 points, followed by 8 points for second-place, and so on.