Greenville, SC – Following the first Conference Carolinas championship in program history in 2024, North Greenville University is picked atop the 2025 Conference Carolinas Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll.
The Trailblazers received 14 first place votes and 224 points to sit atop the pole ahead of 2023 champion Converse University. The Valkyries earned one first place votes and 204 points as they are followed by UNC Pembroke who received the final first place vote and 191 points to come in third. King University, 185 points and Lees-McRae College, 173 points, round out the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Southern Wesleyan University came in sixth with 148 points while Belmont Abbey College followed in seventh with 142 points. Young Harris College and Emmanuel University came in eighth and ninth with 125 and 113 points, respectively. The University of Mount Olive rounded out the top 10 with 98 points.
Erskine College (90), Francis Marion University (64), Shorter University (52), Chowan University (41), Ferrum College (39) and Barton College (31) round out the poll.
The Warriors were picked sixth in the 2025 Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll after they took sixth in last year's championship race. Returning for Southern Wesleyan is All-Conference runner Merritt Smith who's 18th place finish allowed her to take Third Team honors. The Warriors will also bring back Kristi Gallagher for her senior season. Southern Wesleyan will see five new faces take to the course this fall.
Southern Wesleyan will open up the 2025 campaign on September 5 as they travel down the road to Spartanburg, SC to take part in the Converse Kick-Off. They will then travel to Charlotte, NC as Wingate hosts the Bulldog Stampede on September 20th. The Warriors will travel down to Huntsville, AL on September 26 to take part in the Twilight at John Hunt before returning to Charlotte, NC on October 10 to run in the Royals XC Challenge.
The 2025 Conference Carolinas Women's Cross Country Championship will take place on Friday, October 24 at 4:00 p.m. at the Ivey Redmon Course in Kernersville, North Carolina.
The preseason poll was voted on by the league's head coaches and they can't vote for their own school.
