PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its Men's and Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll on Tuesday afternoon, with Seattle Pacific's men's team slotted in seventh and the SPU women were picked to finish fifth in the conference.
Western Washington is the favorite in both the men's and women's polls this season. They've won four consecutive team titles and received all 10 of the available first-place votes in each gender's polls. The SPU men's team earned 41 points to land in seventh place in the poll, while the women picked up 75 points and were slotted in fifth place.
The 2026 GNAC Cross Country Championships are set for Nov. 7 in Monmouth, Ore., and will be hosted by Western Oregon University at the Ash Creek Preserve course on campus. All 10 GNAC women's and men's cross country teams participate in the conference championship meet.
"We graduated some of our core team members on both sides back in the spring, so the team will have a new look this year," assistant coach
Eric Hansen said. "That opens up some opportunities for others to step up and contribute more. We are excited about the freshmen we have coming in as well. They have been working hard all summer and are bringing in some good racing experience, so we will be looking for them to contribute right away."
The SPU men's team brought home a sixth-place finish at last year's GNAC Championships. The Falcons were led by
Avery Erickson's 14th-place finish (24:52.3) at the event. Erickson was named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year in 2025 and will look to build off a strong first season with the Falcons in 2026.
Silas Demmert returns to the Falcons after a 34
th-place finish at last year's GNAC Championships.
Nathan Korth,
Mason Oleson-Borland,
Alex Venable, and
Sam Wieland round out the returners for the Falcons.
Daniel Ojeda and
Alex Ramos Yin are new to the Falcons for the 2026 season.
The SPU women's team goes into 2026 without
Maya Ewing, who graduated from the program last spring. Ewing's final cross country season with the Falcons was excellent, as she took home the 2025 GNAC individual championship last fall.
Anna Prussian returns to the Falcons after a breakout performance in 2025. Prussian ran to a ninth-place finish at last year's GNAC Championship, earning her first All-Conference Award of her career.
Prussian leads
Alexa Gossett,
Nicole Pierce, and Lucio Templeton as the returners to the Falcons this season. Gossett just missed out on a top 20 finish at last year's GNAC Championships with a 21
st-place finish.
The Falcons welcome five new women to the roster in 2025.
Olivia Beaudin,
Jaylynn Erickson,
Esther Paulson,
Taylor Pennell, and
Jocelyn Schnurbusch will look to make an impact in their first season with the Falcons.
"Our goal is always to outperform our projection," Hansen added. "We set up a schedule that we feel will prepare us well for championship season. We have the pieces to be able to beat our preseason ranking. Obviously, it comes down to who's got it on that day at the GNAC championships.
The Falcons' first chance to race happens on Sept. 12 at the Puget Sound Invitational at Fort Steilacoom Park.
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