SEC coaches’ preseason poll places Razorbacks fourth

Shawn Price August 26, 2026

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas enters the 2026 season ranked fourth in the SEC cross country coaches’ preseason poll with 73 points as Marc Burns enters his second campaign as the Razorbacks cross country coach.

Alabama leads the preseason poll with nine first-place votes and 21 points to edge out Florida, who collected six first-place votes and 24 points. South Carolina earned one first-place vote and is third overall with 51 points.

The top half of the league voting among 16 programs includes Missouri (86), Oklahoma (88), Tennessee (96), and Kentucky (117).

Points for the women’s poll were awarded on a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15 basis. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams.

The rest of the teams in the preseason poll include LSU (129), Texas A&M (140), Mississippi State (154), Texas (168), Vanderbilt (177), Ole Miss (189), Georgia (191), and Auburn (216).

Florida won the SEC team title in 2025 with 45 points over Alabama (117), South Carolina (130), and LSU (159).

The SEC Cross Country Championships will be held in Columbia, Missouri, at the Gans Creek course on Friday, October 30.

The top returning Razorback from last year’s conference race is Olivia Pielemeier, who placed 24th. Josphine Mwaura is the top returning Arkansas runner from the NCAA South Central Region where she finished 10th with Pielemeier placing 13th.

Paityn Noe returns to the Razorback line-up after not competing the past year. Noe finished third in the 2024 SEC Championships, won the NCAA South Central Region title, and earned an All-America honor in placing seventh at the 2024 NCAA Championships.

Isca Chelangat, a transfer from Oklahoma State, finished seventh in the 2025 NCAA Championships after placing fourth in the Big 12 Championships and winning the NCAA Midwest Region.

Arkansas opens the season with a trip to Columbia, Missouri, on Friday, September 25, for the Gans Creek Classic. The Razorbacks race on their home course at Agri Park on Saturday, October 3, in the Chile Pepper Festival.