By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Emerging as the favorites in the preseason coaches poll released on Tuesday, Western Washington was picked to defend its Great Northwest Athletic Conference cross country titles once again in 2026.
 
Winners of four consecutive team championships on both the women’s and men’s sides, WWU took home all 10 first-place votes in each gender to top the polls with 100 points apiece. The Vikings will look to become the second GNAC cross country program to win five consecutive conference titles in each gender. Alaska Anchorage won five straight women’s titles from 2009-13 and seven straight men’s titles from 2010-16.
 
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. More information can be found online here.
 

2026 GNAC Women’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2025 GNAC Championships Finish (Score)
1	Western Washington (10)	100	1st (37)
2	Central Washington	82	5th (126)
3	Simon Fraser	80	4th (120)
4	Alaska Anchorage	76	3rd (105)
5	Seattle Pacific	75	2nd (92)
6	Western Oregon	73	7th (146)
7	Northwest Nazarene	60	6th (140)
8	Alaska	40	8th (199)
9	Montana State Billings	28	9th (255)
10	Saint Martin's	26	10th (258)
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

 

2026 GNAC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2025 GNAC Championships Finish (Score)
1	Western Washington (10)	100	1st (37)
T2	Alaska Anchorage	83	2nd (58)
T2	Northwest Nazarene	83	3rd (65)
4	Western Oregon	72	4th (112)
5	Simon Fraser	56	5th (146)
6	Central Washington	48	7th (185)
7	Seattle Pacific	41	6th (151)
8	Alaska	34	8th (193)
9	Saint Martin's	20	9th (244)
10	Montana State Billings	13	DNC
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

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WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY 2026 SEASON OUTLOOK
Western Washington totaled 37 points to win the conference meet by a healthy 55-point margin ahead of 2025 runner-up Seattle Pacific, which was tabbed fifth in this year’s preseason poll with 75 points. It was Western Washington’s fifth overall women’s cross country team title, all of which have come in the last seven seasons. The WWU women finished third at the 2025 NCAA West Region Championships and took 18th place among 34 teams competing at the NCAA Championships.
 
The Viking women have six runners back on their roster who each finished in the top-32 at last year’s conference meet, including a pair of all-conference returners. Senior Ella Edens finished in fourth place (21:35.8) last fall, marking her second straight all-conference performance and third time finishing in the top-15 at the event. Danielle McLain was another all-conference finisher in seventh place (21:40.1), while Jill Philbin took 17th (21:52.5), Cecilia Villagomez Edvalson was 23rd (22:01.5), Josephine Stevenson was 28th (22:11.7) and Olivia Friedrich took 32nd (22:26.9). Ben Stensland, who was voted GNAC Coach of the Year in 2023-25, returns for his fourth season in charge of the program.
 
The coaches forecast continued improvement from a Central Washington team that finished fifth at last year’s conference meet, as the Wildcat women were voted second in the preseason poll with 82 points. The Wildcats’ lone conference title in women’s cross country came in 2004.
 
Checking in third in the women’s poll with 80 points was Simon Fraser, which picked up conference meet women’s team victories in 2014 and 2021. SFU placed fourth at last year’s conference championship race with 120 points. The Red Leafs’ roster is headlined by sophomore Raiya Matonovich, who is coming off a first-team All-America performance in the 1,500-meters at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Mataonovich is SFU’s top cross country returner, placing 22nd at last year’s conference meet (21:59.1). In her third decade leading the Red Leaf programs, Brit Townsend has been SFU’s head coach for its entire tenure within the GNAC and was voted GNAC men’s and women’s cross country coach of the year in 2021 and women’s coach of the year in both 2014 and 2016.
 
Alaska Anchorage was next down the list with 76 points in the preseason poll for fourth. The Seawolves took third place at the conference meet with 105 points in 2025 and have won a conference record nine team titles in women’s cross country with the most recent coming in 2018. UAA has four runners on its roster this fall who competed at last year’s conference meet, with Gracie Puit being the top returner after taking 27th in 2025 (22:17.2). Also finishing in the top half of competitors last year were returners Avery Williamson in 29th (22:17.2) and Gloria Kiprotich in 38th (22:40.8). Ryan McWilliams begins his eighth season in charge of the UAA cross country and track and field program.
 
There will be a new individual champion at this year’s conference meet, after Seattle Pacific said goodbye to 2025 winner Maya Ewing. The Falcons do have a returning all-conference performer in Anna Prussian, who took ninth place in 2025 (21:42.0). Also back on the roster are Alexa Gossett, who was 21st (21:57.2) and Nicole Pierce, who took 53rd (23:39.2). Karl Lerum has been head coach at SPU since 2005.
 
After taking seventh place last year with 146 points at the meet, Western Oregon was projected to finish sixth in the preseason poll with 73 points. The Wolves have a legitimate title contender in returning senior Kyla Potratz, who placed fourth last year (21:32.8) and went on to garner all-region honors with a 25th-place finish. Potratz is the leader among seven returners to the Wolves’ roster who all toed the line at last year’s conference meet. Among them, top-half finishers include Adele Beckstead in 30th (22:21.2), Jazmine Liebl in 36th (22:38.5) and Maslin Sigler in 40th (22:48.5). Zach Holloway begins his second season leading the WOU cross country and track and field program.
 
The coaches slotted Northwest Nazarene seventh in the preseason poll with 60 points in the voting, after the Nighthawks came through with a sixth-place finish at the conference meet with 140 points last year. The Nighthawks bid farewell to senior Morgan Erler after an all-conference performance in 2025, leading the team by taking sixth place (21:38.3). Erler also claimed all-region honors with a 19th-place finish and won the gold medal in the 5,000-meters at the 2026 GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships. One of the most experienced returning lineups, NNU has seven runners on its roster who competed at the 2025 GNAC Championships. Hazel Kunkel returns after taking 16th place (21:50.8) and Zoey Stauffer was another top-half finisher in 37th place (22:39.2). Greg Mitchell is at the outset of his third year leading the Nighthawk program.
 
Completing the preseason poll were Montana State Billings in ninth with 28 points and Saint Martin’s in 10th with 26 points, reflecting where the two teams finished at last year’s conference meet. The Yellowjackets’ top returner is Sarah Eichmann who took 52nd (23:36.3) and the Saints’ top returner is Camila Romo who took 67th (24:43.2). Jonathan Woehl starts his ninth year in charge of the Yellowjackets, while the Saints welcomed first-year head coach Bruce Jackson over the summer.
 

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MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY 2026 SEASON OUTLOOK
The WWU men were pushed by Alaska Anchorage at last year’s conference meet but still managed a 21-point margin of victory as they took home the crown with 37 points. It was the program’s ninth overall men’s team championship which is second-most to the Seawolves’ 11. WWU was the 2025 NCAA West Region Championships runner-up and was the GNAC’s top-performing team taking ninth place at the NCAA Championships.
 
The Vikings are heavily favored to repeat, returning four all-conference performers and eight total runners who finished in the top half of last year’s championship field. Sten Brakstad was the 2025 GNAC runner-up (24:17.6), before going on to take 17th at the regional championship and 88th at the national championship. Jonah Billings posted his first all-conference performance in fourth place (24:26.7) and was the team’s top performer at regionals in eighth place. Jared Alderfer returns to the squad after placing ninth last year (24:40.0), marking his second consecutive all-conference effort. George Fernandez was right behind in 10th place in 2025 (24:40.2) to pick up his first cross country all-conference accolade. WWU’s other key returners this fall are Eduardo Tobon who was 15th (24:53.6), Spencer Zeljak who was 16th (24:55.2), Cale O’Day who was 21st (25:04.9) and Leaf McQuillen who took 33rd (25:39.4).
 
UAA and Northwest Nazarene tied for second in this year’s coaches poll, each receiving 83 points. The Nighthawks finished just behind the Seawolves at last year’s meet, totaling 65 points – seven behind UAA. NNU’s lone GNAC men’s cross country title came at the inaugural event in 2001. The Seawolves will have to replace 2025 GNAC champion John Peckham and fellow all-conference performer Ty Elliott, who went on to finish fourth and fifth at the regional championships and each within the top-40 at nationals to take home All-America status. The top returner for UAA is Benjamin Browning, who took 13th at last year’s GNAC Championships (24:50.3). Other top-half finishers who are back on the roster are Anthony Porter (24th, 25:11.1), Samuel Roy (30th, 25:29.7) and Edgar Vera (36th, 25:41.9).
 
It is a similar story for the Nighthawks, who lost third-place finisher Grady Mylander and fifth-place finisher Brody Kemble to graduation. NNU does bring back an all-conference performer in Ian Stockett, who took seventh place at last year’s conference meet (24:33.9). Micah Chi, who was 35th in 2025 (25:40.6), is another top-half returner to the NNU roster this season.
 
Western Oregon and Simon Fraser are each projected for a similar finish to last year, checking in fourth and fifth, respectively in the preseason poll. The Wolves took fourth at the conference meet with 112 points while Simon Fraser finished fifth totaling 146 points last fall. Each program has one GNAC title to its name, with WOU’s coming in 2017 and SFU hoisting the trophy in 2021.
 
The Wolves bring back four runners who all finished in the top-30 at last year’s conference championship, headlined by senior Remedan Seman. He placed 11th (24:46.7) for his top-career GNAC finish and just missing an all-conference spot. Ethan Bothwell is back after taking 19th place (25:00.9), while Matthew Resnik was 20th (25:04.4) and Zander Campbell finished 27th (25:23.3) as a freshman.
 
Central Washington grabbed 48 points in the preseason voting to land sixth in the poll – one spot higher than its seventh-place finish at last year’s GNAC Championships. Seattle Pacific was right behind in seventh with 41 points, after placing sixth at the conference meet. The Falcons will be led by Avery Erickson, who took home GNAC Newcomer of the Year honors with a 14th-place finish (24:52.3) in his first year after transferring from Azusa Pacific. Silas Demmert is another key returner for SPU, after placing 34th (25:39.8) a year ago.
 
The final three spots in the preseason poll were occupied by the bottom-three finishing teams from last year’s conference meet, with Alaska eighth at 34 points, Saint Martin’s ninth at 20 points and Montana State Billings 10th with 13 points. Of those three teams, Alaska’s Dexter Delaney is the key runner to watch this season after a GNAC Freshman of the Year performance in 2025. Delaney led the Nanooks with an eighth-place finish (24:39.6), becoming the first man in program history to garner the award. The Yellowjackets’ top returner is Will Hyatt, who was 45th (26:01.5) while SMU brings back Tyler Scott, who was 52nd (26:18.5).