ORLANDO, Fla. – Sunshine State Conference men's cross country coaches name Florida Southern as the preseason favorite in 2025. The Moccasins are expected to win their third consecutive SSC Championship after receiving the maximum 81 points and nine first-place votes.
Tampa ranks second in the voting with 69 points, while Embry-Riddle lands in third with 67 points and the final first-place vote. Florida Tech is fourth in the poll with 51 points, Palm Beach Atlantic lands in fifth with 48, and Nova Southeastern is sixth with 45 points. Lynn (32 points), Barry (24 points), Saint Leo (24 points), and Eckerd (9 points) take the bottom four spots of the poll.
2025 SSC MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE
Eckerd reinstated men's cross country for this season, ending a 24-year hiatus. Before the program stopped competing in 2001, the Tritons won SSC titles in 1989 and 1992, and Jon Fry won the program’s lone individual conference title in 1993.
Last season, Florida Southern finished with 27 team points to capture the program's 19th SSC championship and second in a row. Four of the Moccasin’s top five runners finished in the Top 10, including the individual champion, Christian Giller, and runner-up, Christopher Colavita. Tampa finished second with 60 points. The Spartans placed three runners in the Top 10. Embry-Riddle finished third with 73 points.
Giller earned the title of SSC Cross Country Individual Champion after completing the 8,000-meter race at Lakeland’s Hollway Park in 24:44.1. Giller became the 12th different Moccasin to win an individual SSC title, and first since Mason Jones won back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021. Giller’s win marked the 16th individual championship for the program.
Florida Southern was the top-placing SSC team at the South Regional, as they finished fourth. Giller finished second in the race to qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championship, where he ultimately finished 41st.
Tampa will host the 2025 SSC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday, October 25th, at Holloway Park in Lakeland. NCAA Division II regional competition will be on Saturday, November 8th, also at Holloway Park. Florida Southern will host the South Regional. The National Championship is on Saturday, November 22nd, at Wayne E Danehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Below are the full results of the 2025 SSC preseason coaches' poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
2025 SSC MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES POLL
|
Rank
|
School
|
Total
|
|
1
|
Florida Southern
|
81 (9)
|
|
2
|
Tampa
|
69
|
|
3
|
Embry-Riddle
|
67 (1)
|
|
4
|
Florida Tech
|
51
|
|
5
|
Palm Beach Atlantic
|
48
|
|
6
|
Nova Southeastern
|
45
|
|
7
|
Lynn
|
32
|
|
T8
|
Barry
|
24
|
|
T8
|
Saint Leo
|
24
|
|
10
|
Eckerd
|
9
|
Previous SSC Men’s Cross Country Polls
| Year |
Predicted
Winner |
Actual
Finish |
Actual
Winner |
Predicted
Finish |
| 2024 |
Florida Southern |
1st |
Florida Southern |
1st |
| 2023 |
Embry-Riddle |
2nd |
Florida Southern |
2nd |
| 2022 |
Embry-Riddle |
1st |
Embry-Riddle |
1st |
| 2021 |
Embry-Riddle |
1st |
Embry-Riddle |
1st |
| 2020 |
No Poll Due to COVID-19 |
| 2019 |
Embry-Riddle |
2nd |
Saint Leo |
3rd |
| 2018 |
Florida Southern |
2nd |
Embry-Riddle |
2nd |