NEW ORLEANS--- Stan State women's cross country will open the 2026 season ranked No. 12 nationally after the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its NCAA Division II preseason national coaches' poll.
The Warriors received 145 points in the preseason poll and maintain the same No. 12 national position in which they finished the 2025 season.
Stan State is one of three California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) teams in the national top 30. Chico State leads the conference contingent at No. 6, followed by the No. 12 Warriors and No. 21 Cal Poly Pomona. Grand Valley State received five first-place votes and 235 points to claim the preseason No. 1 ranking. Adams State collected three first-place votes and 234 points to sit second, with Wingate third, Colorado School of Mines fourth and Western Colorado fifth.
The national recognition comes after Stan State was selected No. 2 in the USTFCCCA West Region preseason rankings. The Warriors moved up three positions regionally after concluding the 2025 campaign at No. 5 in the West.
Stan State brings back a strong core from a 2025 team that advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championships and finished 12th out of 34 teams with 412 points. The Warriors won the Kim Duyst Twilight, finished second at the UC Riverside Invitational and SF State Invitational and placed second at the CCAA Championships with 39 points. A fifth place finish out of 28 teams at the NCAA Division II West Regional in Monmouth, Ore., sent Stan State to the national championships in Kenosha, Wisc., where
Annie Wild placed 24th to earn All-America honors. Wild also earned All-West Region recognition as the Warriors finished the year ranked No. 12 nationally.
Coached by
Darren Holman, the Warriors return Wild for her senior season along with
Nina Furtado and
Risa Reynier. Wild and Furtado were two of five Warriors to earn All-CCAA First Team honors last season, while sophomore
Izzy Soto also returns after earning first-team honors as a freshman. Juniors
Makenzie Kordic and
Aubrey Lascano and sophomores
Roseli Diaz,
Stevie Holguin,
Megan Silva and
Aubrey Webb also return. The Warriors added freshmen
Natalie Arriaza (Patterson/Patterson HS),
Sophie Benham (Modesto/Hughson HS),
Elizabeth Christopher (Turlock/Turlock HS) and
Demiree Dean (Tuolumne/Sonora HS), along with sophomore
Kekaihulali Halpern (Hilo, Hawaii/Hilo HS), who joins Stan State after attending Saint Martin's University.
Stan State gets its first opportunity to compete Friday, Sept. 4, at the USF Invite at Hellman Hollow in San Francisco. The women's race is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
The Warriors then return to the Central Valley to host the Kim Duyst Twilight on Saturday, Sept. 12, at River Oaks Golf Course in Ceres. The meet gets underway at 5:15 p.m., with the women's collegiate 6K race scheduled for 9 p.m. Stan State heads back to San Francisco on Oct. 9 for the SF State Invite at Speedway Meadows in its final scheduled competition before the postseason.
The CCAA Cross Country Championships will take place Nov. 7 at the CSUSB Cross Country Course in San Bernardino, with the women's race scheduled for 11 a.m. The NCAA Division II West Regional follows Nov. 21 at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento. The NCAA Division II National Championship is set for Dec. 4 at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division II National Preseason Poll
- Grand Valley State (235)
- Adams State (234)
- Wingate (224)
- Colorado School of Mines (218)
- Western Colorado (206)
- Chico State (200)
- UC-Colorado Springs (195)
- West Texas A&M (184)
- Pittsburg State (175)
- Cedarville (161)
- Lewis (159)
- Stan State (145)
- Colorado Mesa (143)
- Winona State (138)
- CSU Pueblo (133)
- Lee (Tenn.) (118)
- Fort Lewis (114)
- Tampa (93)
- Rogers State (85)
- Dallas Baptist (84)
- Cal Poly Pomona (82)
- Catawba (77)
- Neb.-Kearney (68)
- East Stroudsburg (54)
- Missouri Southern (51)
- Southern Connecticut (36)
- Findlay (31)
- Anderson (S.C.) (27)
- Augustana (S.D.) (19)
- Biola (12)
