UC Santa Cruz is the favorite the 2025 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll, following a vote among the conference head coaches. The Banana Slugs, who have won the last four league titles, received 36 points and six first-place votes to top the rankings.

Salisbury ranked second with 30 points and one first-place vote, while Christopher Newport was a close third with 27 points.  Mary Washington ranked fourth with 20 points.

C2C newcomers JWU Charlotte and Regent each received 12 points in fifth place, while Warren Wilson (10) completed the poll.

The 2025 season begins 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 women's cross country team entering the 2025 season: 

UC Santa Cruz: The Banana Slugs are back for the 2025 season and are set to pick up right where they let off. UCSC has won four-straight C2C Championship titles and will be a hard team to beat as they return six of their seven runners from the NCAA lineup that took 19th place at the 2024 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. Among the top returners is one of the country's best runners, Kenzie Seymour, who became the first Banana Slug in program history to earn All-American honors with a 21st place finish at the NCAA Championships last season. UCSC also brings back Helena Janku, Jordan Baden, Sara Teitelbaum, Faith Dyogi, and Jordan Robinson, who all made notable contributions to the team's success last year. In addition to the star-studded returning lineup, the Banana Slugs welcome eight new student-athletes to the roster.

Salisbury: The Sea Gulls enter the season on the heels of a second-place finish in last year's C2C Championships. The Sea Gull women will be returning All-Region runner Anna Bodmer, along with multiple other key competitors.

Christopher Newport: The Captains are coming off a 2024 campaign in which they finished eighth at the NCAA South Regionals after placing third at the league meet. Under the guidance of head coach Tyler Wingard, this year's squad features Sarah Dake and Lena Blagg, who both hauled in All-C2C awards for their work last fall. The roster also includes nine other veteran competitors, led by Courtney Mudd, who was an all-conference recipient as a freshman in 2023.

Mary Washington: Sophomore NCAA Championship participant Lily Hoffman headlines a group of eight returners for the Eagles this fall. Hoffman placed fifth at the C2C Championships and 20th at NCAA regionals a season ago and will look to continue her success. Also back are letter winners Katherine Armstrong, Maddie Binkley, Eyaya Fletcher, Cameron Rico, Addy Wallin, and Kendra White. Track standout Amelia Stephenson joins the fold along with a group of three newcomers for fourth year head coach Asia Hart. 

JWU Charlotte: Dustin Stewart takes over as the second head coach in program history and will look to rebuild a Wildcat team that returns just three athletes from 2024. Sophomores Aitana Matuty and Jalynn Wright will compete to be the Wildcats' top performers in 2025.

Regent: Head Coach Michael Rose will welcome in nine new faces this season, highlighted by sophomore Samantha Bodnar (Calgary, Alberta, Canada).  Bodnar had a successful freshman season competing with the track & field team in distance running events and she will look to translate that success to the course.  In addition, fellow sophomore Jordana Foose (Chesterfield, Va.) has transferred over from the soccer team this season.         

Warren Wilson: The Owls look to rebound in 2025 after its 2024 season was cut short by Hurricane Helene. WWC returns several key runners, including top performer Bella Sosa and team captain Marlese Pedisich, along with Lura Torres Benn and Aila Givens. Newcomer Merrit Yoder and freshman Trinity Larsen add depth to the roster as the team prepares to open the season at the Eye Opener Meet in Spartanburg, S.C., the site of this year's NCAA Division III Championships.