ORLANDO, Fla. – Tampa and Nova Southeastern are tied for the No. 1 spot in the 2025 Sunshine State Conference women's cross country coaches preseason poll. Both the Spartans and Sharks received 59 points, though the Spartans received five first-place votes and the Sharks earned four. For the Spartans, it would be their 18th conference title, and for the Sharks, it would be their second after they won their first last year.
Florida Southern earns 52 points to take the third spot. Palm Beach Atlantic receives 41 points to round out the top four. Embry-Riddle finishes just narrowly behind the Sailfish, with 39 points to land in the middle of the ranking. Lynn (28 points), Barry (21 points), Saint Leo (17 points), and Eckerd (8 points) round out the poll.
2025 SSC WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE
Eckerd reinstated women's cross country in 2025, ending a 21-year hiatus. Before the program shut down in 2004, the Tritons won three SSC titles in 1990, 1991, and 1992. Kim Fagen won two SSC individual titles, one South Region individual title, and earned All-America status in 1991.
Last season, Nova Southeastern posted a score of 31 to claim the program's first SSC Women's Cross Country title. The Sharks put four runners in the Top 10, including the individual champion, Jillian Thorning, and runner-up, Leena Saidi. Florida Southern edged Tampa, 54-55, for second place. The Mocs had two runners finish in the Top 7, while the Spartans had two runners in the Top 10. Thorning finished the 6,000-meter course at Lakeland's Holloway Park in 21:45.2 to become the first SSC Women's Cross Country Individual Champion in Nova Southeastern history.
Both Tampa and Nova Southeastern earned passage to the NCAA National Championship after second and third-place finishes at the South Regional. Thorning, who finished fourth, was the top SSC finisher in the regional. At the national championship, the Sharks finished 29th and the Spartans finished 30th. Saidi was the top finisher for the SSC, after placing 126th.
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: 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
2025 SSC WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES POLL
|
Rank
|
School
|
Total
|
|
T1
|
Tampa
|
59 (5)
|
|
T1
|
Nova Southeastern
|
59 (4)
|
|
3
|
Florida Southern
|
52
|
|
4
|
Palm Beach Atlantic
|
41
|
|
5
|
Embry-Riddle
|
39
|
|
6
|
Lynn
|
28
|
|
7
|
Barry
|
21
|
|
8
|
Saint Leo
|
17
|
|
9
|
Eckerd
|
8
|
Previous SSC Women’s Cross Country Polls
| Year |
Predicted
Winner |
Actual
Finish |
Actual
Winner |
Predicted
Finish |
| 2024 |
Tampa |
3rd |
Nova Southeastern |
2nd |
| 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 |