MELBOURNE, Fla. – Tampa has been voted No. 1 in the 2024 Sunshine State Conference women's cross country coaches preseason poll. The Spartans are expected to lift the league championship trophy for the 18th time after receiving 48 points and six first-place votes in the ranking.
Nova Southeastern narrowly lands in second place with 44 points and the final two first-place votes. Embry-Riddle garners 32 points and edges Florida Southern for third place by one point. Palm Beach Atlantic (26 points), Lynn (18 points), Barry (15 points), and Saint Leo (10 points) round out the ranking.
Saint Leo reinstated women's cross country in 2024, ending a one-year hiatus. The Lions won all three of the program's SSC titles from 2014 to 2021. Saint Leo boasts six SSC Runner of the Year awards and six individual conference champions, with Colett Rampf (2014-17) earning the lion’s share. Rampf is the only four-time Athlete of the Year in any SSC sport.
Last season, Tampa posted a score of 32 to claim the program's 17th SSC Women's Cross Country title. The Spartans put four runners in the Top-10, including the individual champion, Aspen Gordon. Nova Southeastern edged Palm Beach Atlantic, 56-58, for second place. The Sharks had three runners finish Top-6, led by the meet runner-up. Four of the five Sailfish runners finished Top-15. Gordon finished the 6,000-meter course at Lakeland's Holloway Park in 21:38.6 to become the ninth SSC Women's Cross Country Individual Champion in Tampa history.
Tampa earned passage to the NCAA National Championship with a second-place result at the South Regional. Leena Saidi of Nova Southeastern was the top finisher, finished fourth, was at the top in the SSC, and earned an individual qualification for the National Championship. The Spartans finished 26th in the national championship. Gordon led all conference runners with her 21:05.4 performance, which earned her 63rd place.
Nova Southeastern will host the 2024 SSC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships on Friday, October 25th, at Holloway Park in Lakeland. NCAA Division II regional competition will be on Saturday, November 9th, at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama. The National Championship is on Saturday, November 23rd, at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, California.
Below are the full results of the 2024 SSC preseason coaches' poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
2024 SSC WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES POLL
|
Rank
|
School
|
Total
|
|
1
|
Tampa
|
48 (6)
|
|
2
|
Nova Southeastern
|
44 (2)
|
|
3
|
Embry-Riddle
|
32
|
|
4
|
Florida Southern
|
31
|
|
5
|
Palm Beach Atlantic
|
26
|
|
6
|
Lynn
|
18
|
|
7
|
Barry
|
15
|
| 8 |
Saint Leo |
10 |
See Also: SSC All-Americans | All-SSC Teams | SSC Champions
Previous SSC Women’s Cross Country Polls
| Year |
Predicted
Winner |
Actual
Finish |
Actual
Winner |
Predicted
Finish |
| 2023 |
Tampa |
1st |
Tampa |
1st |
| 2022 |
Tampa |
2nd |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
4th |
| 2021 |
Tampa |
2nd |
Saint Leo |
T2nd |
| 2020 |
No Poll Due to COVID-19 |
| 2019 |
Tampa |
1st |
Tampa |
1st |
| 2018 |
Embry-Riddle |
2nd |
Tampa |
3rd |