CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
ATLANTA, Ga. (October 29, 2026) – With the 2026 Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) Men's Cross Country Championship approaching, Covenant and Asbury enter the postseason tied atop the pre-championship poll, voted on by the league’s head coaches. Both programs received 22 points, with Covenant earning four first-place votes and Asbury collecting two, setting the stage for a competitive championship race.
The defending men’s cross country champions, the Scots of Covenant, enters the championship with momentum following a strong regular season that included a return to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Region rankings for the first time since 2021. Ranked ninth in the region, the Scots also reached a program milestone as both the men's and women's teams appeared in the regional rankings simultaneously for the first time. Covenant recorded three top-five team finishes this fall, highlighted by a runner-up showing at its season-opening Mountainside Stride meet. The Scots also placed among the top 10 in all but one of their competitions.
Asbury matched Covenant's 22 points in the poll after putting together a consistent regular-season campaign. The Eagles finished among the top three teams in three meets and recorded top-10 finishes in every competition. Their strongest performance came at the home-hosted Spoon's Fiercely Faithful XC Meet, where Asbury claimed the team title in a four-team field. With two first-place votes, the Eagles enter Friday's championship as one of the leading contenders.
LaGrange and Piedmont shared third place in the poll with 13 points apiece. LaGrange earned top-10 finishes in three of its four meets this season, while Piedmont gained experience competing in fields that frequently featured programs from multiple NCAA divisions, often as one of the few Division III representatives.
Huntingdon and Belhaven rounded out the six-team poll, tying for fifth with 10 points each. Both programs will look to improve upon their projected finishes when the conference's six teams meet for the championship.
The 2026 CCS Men's Cross Country Championship is scheduled for Friday, October 30, at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama. All six conference programs will compete for the team title, with individual honors also on the line as the league's top runners close out their conference championship season.
2026 CCS MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLL
| Ranking |
School |
Points |
| T1 |
Covenant College |
22 points (4) |
| T1 |
Asbury University |
22 points (2) |
| T3 |
LaGrange College |
13 points |
| T3 |
Piedmont University |
13 points |
| T5 |
Huntingdon College |
10 points |
| T5 |
Belhaven University |
10 points |
First-place votes in parenthesis.
ABOUT THE COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE OF THE SOUTH (CCS)
The CCS is an NCAA Division III athletic conference that began play during the 2022-23 academic year. The conference features seven member institutions (Agnes Scott College, Asbury University, Belhaven University, Covenant College, Huntingdon College, LaGrange College, and Piedmont University) and sponsors championships across 16 sports. In addition to sharing the member institutions' geographic identity, the name 'Collegiate Conference of the South' is indicative of a shared commitment to academic excellence, which is commensurate with the NCAA Division III philosophy.
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