UC Santa Cruz earned the top spot in the 2025 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll, following a vote among the conference head coaches. The Banana Slugs, who are the four-time defending league champions, earned 36 points and six first-place votes to headline the rankings.

Christopher Newport claimed the remaining first-place vote and 30 points to finish second. Salisbury was third with 26 points, while Mary Washington ranked fourth (22).

C2C newcomer Regent tallied 13 points in fifth place, while first-year member JWU Charlotte (12) and Warren Wilson (8) rounded out the poll.

The 2025 season starts August 29 with the C2C Cross Country Championships hosted by UC Santa Cruz on Saturday, November 1. The meet will be held at Baylands Regional Park in Sunnyvale, California. 

Below is a brief preview of each men's cross country team entering the 2025 season: 

UC Santa Cruz: The Banana Slugs won their fourth-straight C2C title before going on to finish fourth at the NCAA Division III West Region Championships last season. Notably, Luke Holland returns to lead the pack after finishing in 66th place at the 2024 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. Holland was the 2024 C2C individual champion with UCSC racing their way to a perfect score of 15 points. Among the returners, the Slugs welcome back Graeme Maclean who finished as the C2C runner up, as well as Ethan Vahle who finished in the top 10 at the C2C Championships. Look for Camden Jaureguy, Michael Lennox, and Alex Wille to make key contributions as well with that trio all earning top 30 spots at last year's conference meet. Maclean and Jaureguy also bring experience from the NCAA West Region Championship with Maclean placing 18th while Jaureguy took 45th. In addition to the stellar squad coming back, the Banana Slugs will feature five first year runners looking to make big impacts in the 2025 season.

Christopher Newport: The Captains welcome back a decorated contingent of competitors from last year's squad, which placed second at the C2C Championships before coming in seventh at the NCAA South Regionals. Head coach Tyler Wingard's roster is headlined by sophomore Andrew Janetsky, who is the league's reigning Rookie of the Year after also pocketing All-Region nods as a freshman in 2024. Meanwhile, Clayton Rankin, Luke Tompkins, and Tom Foti are also back after hauling in All-Conference plaudits for their work last fall.

Salisbury: The Sea Gulls enter the season after a third-place finish for the men in last year's C2C Championships. SU brings back at least five key returners, including Seth Barron and Connor Kinch.

Mary Washington: A large group of 11 returnees headline the Eagles 2025 roster, including seniors Luke Blair and Aidan Kimener, juniors Ben Arp, Edmund Garcia, Morgan Lehocky, Ashton Shultz, and Jimmy Volk, and sophomores Everett Cimon, CJ Hulleman, Thomas Mulhern, and Rylan Sedlacek. Sophomore Nicholas Smerlis returns to the fold after scoring as a top finisher for UMW in 2023, and four newcomers bolster the veteran cast. 

Regent: Head Coach Michael Rose has assembled his largest roster in program history which is highlighted by school record holder junior Aaron Jacobs (Stafford, Va.).  Last season, Jacobs became the first Royals runner to ever qualify for NCCAA National Championships, where he finished 28th overall.  In addition, sophomore Thomas Slingluff (Suffolk, Va.), who produced Regent's second overall best performance last season returns, while freshman Bryce Nearman (Stafford, Va.) looks to make an immediate impact.    

JWU Charlotte: The Wildcats return four of their top six runners from a team that finished runner-up at the 2024 USCAA National Championships. Liam Robinson and Dillon Neeley each earned USCAA All-American honors after finishing in the top 10 at the national championships and will be the leaders of the 2025 team. Sophomore Dylan Michaud will be a Wildcat to watch after injuries slowed his 2024 campaign until the end of the season. 

Warren Wilson: The Owls look to rebound in 2025 after their 2024 season was cut short by Hurricane Helene. Senior Henry Berta, last year's top runner, leads WWC alongside a strong freshman class that includes Deshawn Hamilton (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Brooks Anderton (Morgan, Utah). The Owls open their season at the Eye Opener Meet in Spartanburg, S.C., the site of this year's NCAA Division III Championships.