COLUMBUS, Miss. – The W women's cross country team has been picked to finish fifth in the 2026 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) coaches' poll, released on Monday. Senior Hannah Owens was named to the SLIAC's "watch list" for the 2026 campaign, seeking her fourth-straight All-SLIAC finish.

The Greenville University women's cross country program is once again the favorite in this year's coaches' preseason poll. The Panthers tallied 64 points in the voting, picking up eight first-place votes. Despite the graduation of Norah Atkins, head coach Brian Patton still has a plethora of talented runners to rely on. At the top of that list is Alexis Martinez, who became the first runner in the conference since 2010 to win both the SLIAC Runner of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards in the same season. She is joined in the lineup by fellow All-Conference runners Alivia Clayton, Natali Roth, Raven Vance, and Lydia Cahill. Two new faces that build the depth are Morgan Hart and Morgan Sturges.

Webster University received the only other first-place vote and totaled 42 points, tying for 2nd in the voting. Head Coach Kyle Robinson has built some depth for the lineup and will be looking to make a big jump after finishing 8th at last year's conference championship. Violet Hill is back after her All-Conference showing last season, while Brie Inman came on strong at the end of last season. Lydia Imboden is also back. The lineup gets deeper with the additions of Brooklynn Leeper, Selene Ahlersmeyer, Ayanna Lyons, Marrisa Usher, Zoe Click, and Eman Elsayed.

Lyon College also picked up 42 points, tying them for 2nd on the poll. The Scots finished 3rd at last year's championship but first-year head coach Katherine Mayberry as a pair of talented runners to build around in Brooklynn Collins and Maddie DeRoussel. The duo traded off top team finishes throughout the 2025 season, with Collins crossing first at both the conference championship and regionals. DeRoussel remains the highest finisher by a Scot at the conference championship, placing 5th at the 2024 meet. Both runners earned Second Team All-Conference honors last season. Briley Brown is new to the program and will look to add to the lineup depth.

Principia College finished with 40 points, coming in 4th. Head Coach Justin Halley will have a younger program with junior Nina Martinez leading the way. Martinez closed out her year with an 18th-place finish at the conference championship thanks to her season-best time of 27:49. Lily Hohner and Quintasia Evans add depth for the Panthers lineup.

MUW was 5th with 37 total points. Head Coach Dedrick Burnett returns a pair of runners in Hannah Owens and Alaina Mathis. As a three-time all-conference runner, Owens will continue to look to make her mark on the program. She has the program's all-time best 6K time and is the Owls'¬¬ best finisher at the conference championship, placing 8th last fall. Keturah Johnson, Brianna Brown, and Rachel Lochridge will be new to the program this fall.

Blackburn College received 34 points, placing them 6th in the voting. Head Coach Noah Daum retained several runners from last season while bringing in freshman Amelia Elson. Sophia Palmier is the top returner, closing out her freshman year with back-to-back performances as the team's second-place runner. Also back are Mary Ahrens, Kaitlyn Garland, and Hunter Kirk.

Spalding University finished with 31 points, marking them 7th in the voting. No team information provided.

Westminster College was 8th with 18 points. No team information provided.

Eureka College finished with 16 points, putting them 9th on the poll. Zoe Stoecker remains the face of the Red Devils program. Stoecker put together a season-best time of 31:05 in each of her final two races in 2025 and will look to close out her senior season with a strong showing.

2026 SLIAC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY WATCH LIST
Sadie Brandt, Westminster College
Lydia Cahill, Greenville University
Alivia Clayton, Greenville University
Brooklyn Collins, Lyon College
Madison DeRoussel, Lyon College
Violet Hill, Webster University
Alexis Martinez, Greenville University
Hannah Owens, MUW
Natali Roth, Greenville University
Raven Vance, Greenville University