FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- The Christopher Newport men's cross country team earned a first-place vote and was ranked second overall in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released by the league office on Friday afternoon.

The Captains nabbed one of seven first-place votes and collected 30 points overall to finish just behind UC Santa Cruz, who garnered the other six first-place votes and 36 total points. Following the top-two squads, Salisbury was third in the poll, while Mary Washington, Regent, Johnson & Wales (N.C.), and Warren Wilson rounded out the top-seven.

Last year, Christopher Newport was the runner-up at the league championships before capping off the fall with a seventh-place performance at the NCAA South Regionals.

Boasting a talented collection of veteran standouts, the Captains welcome back four All-Conference honorees from 2024. Clayton Rankin and Luke Tompkins both earned first-team citations after placing in the top-eight at last year's championship meet, while Andrew Janetsky and Tom Foti were second-team picks. Janetsky was also celebrated as the league's Rookie of the Year and rounded out his debut campaign as an All-Region selection.

Along with last year's award-winning performers, junior Evan Young also secured second-team All-Conference nods as a freshman in 2023. Meanwhile, rising senior Taylor Dalton threw down a top-25 showing at the 2024 meet after finishing 23rd at the league championships.

Entering the fall season, Rankin and Janetsky both sit among the top 8k performers in school history. During last year's Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle, Rankin set a new PR with a time of 25:44.4, while Janetsky was just steps behind in 25:51.4. Those times rank 30th and 35th on Christopher Newport's all-time performance list.

CNU will kick off the 2025 season on August 30 when the Captains travel to Pole Green Park for the Spider Alumni Open.

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