NORTH CANTON, OH: Cross Country season is here as the Cavaliers open the 2026 campaign this Friday at the Tommy Evans Invitational, hosted by the University of Akron. With competition quickly approaching, the United States Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association released Preseason Regional and National rankings this week. 

Coming off a G-MAC Championship, the Men's program was ranked 4th in the Midwest Region and 18th in the country. Regionally, GLIAC powerhouse, Grand Valley, saw the number one spot followed by Lewis and Saginaw Valley State. 

The Women's programs come into the preseason rankings ranked 10th after coming off a National Championship appearance last season. Like the Men, Grand Valley took the top spot. G-MAC opponents Cedarville, Findlay, and Hillsdale were also featured in the rankings. 

Reigning Men's G-MAC Coach of the Year, Rob Mizicko, said, "Both the Men's and Women's teams are coming off very impressive 2025 seasons. We are excited about the Women's team as we will be lining up a very young group that has some very large shoes to fill after losing 4 of our top runners from last year's national qualifying team. The Men's team brings back most of our top guys from last year and we are excited to see if we can make another strong run in the post season. This year's men's team has a good mix of experience and young talent.

After lining up in Akron on Friday, the rest of September, both programs will be rather local, running at Cedarville and Tiffin.