ORLANDO, Fla. – The Florida Southern College women's cross country team was predicted to finish fourth overall according to the Sunshine State Conference cross country coaches with the release of the 2026 SSC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Tampa had the top spot, taking eight of the nine first-place votes. Nova Southeastern was second, with Embry-Riddle in third. The Moccasins, who finished fifth overall at the 2025 SSC Championships, have the fourth-place spot, one point ahead of Palm Beach Atlantic in fifth. Barry and Saint Leo tied for the sixth-place spot, with Lynn and Eckerd rounding out the remaining SSC teams.
Lynn will host the 2026 SSC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 7, at Holloway Park in Lakeland. NCAA Division II regional competition will be on Saturday, November 21, at John Hunt Park, hosted by the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The National Championship will be in the Kansas/Missouri area as part of the 2026 DII Fall Festival, with the cross country championship taking place at Rim Rock in Lawrence, Kansas on December 4.
The Florida Southern women's cross country team has a strong group of returners, with six of their top eight finishers from last year's SSC Championships back for another year.
Grace Reed,
Nika Gividen,
Emma Pfeiffer, and
Alena Pezzoli are the top four returners for the Mocs who placed in the top 40 of last year's event. The Mocs also added six new faces to the 2026 squad, and the opening event of the season is just over one week away as FSC hosts the Uncle Nick's XC Bagel Run in Lakeland at Holloway Park on Saturday, Sept. 5.
2026 SSC Women's Cross Country Preseason Rankings
| Rank |
School |
Points |
| 1 |
Tampa |
8 (8) |
| 2 |
Nova Southeastern |
16 (1) |
| 3 |
Embry-Riddle |
25 |
| 4 |
Florida Southern |
32 |
| 5 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
33 |
| T-6 |
Barry |
47 |
| T-6 |
Saint Leo |
47 |
| 8 |
Lynn |
56 |
| 9 |
Eckerd |
60 |
First-place votes are listed in parentheses.
