FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- The Christopher Newport women's cross country team was slotted third in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, which was announced by the league office on Friday afternoon.
In the rankings, the Captains earned 27 points, which slotted them just behind UC Santa Cruz and Salisbury. The Banana Slugs picked up six first-place votes and 36 total points to earn the top spot in the poll, while the Sea Gulls garnered 30 points to finish second in the early standings. Mary Washington, Johnson & Wales (N.C.), Regent, and Warren Wilson rounded out the top-seven.
CNU earned the No. 3 position after finishing third at last year's championship meet. The squad eventually wrapped up the 2024 campaign with an eighth-place showing at the NCAA South Regionals.
The Captains return an impressive veteran contingent from last year's squad, including multiple All-Conference performers.
Sarah Dake was a first-team selection in 2024 after coming in seventh at the league championships with a time of 23:22.9 in the 6k.
Lena Blagg also garnered second-team honors after placing 16th overall, while
Courtney Mudd was also a second-team pick in 2023 after finishing 13th during her freshman campaign.
Along with the decorated competitors, two other Captains registered top-20 efforts during last year's competition. Sophomore
Sarah Bland was 19th during the 2024 championships, while senior
Josie Brumfield came in 20th.
Incredibly, six runners enter the fall already ranked in the top-50 on Christopher Newport's all-time 6k performance list. Mudd leads the returners with a time of 23:09.3 at the 2023 league meet, which places her 23rd in program history. Meanwhile, Blagg set a PR of 23:14.3 at last year's Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle, Dake notched her personal-best at the conference championships, and
Megan Smith completed the 2022 Paul Short Run in 23:38.2.
Rounding out the all-time performers, Bland sits 42nd in school history with a time of 23:47.0 at last year's Inter-Regional Border Battle, while
Kayla Lopez completed the CNU Invitational in 23:51.5 last August.
The 2025 campaign will kick off on August 30 when Christopher Newport travels to Pole Green Park for the Spider Alumni Open.
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