LATHAM, N.Y. – Defending champion Penn State Berks has been selected as the favorite in the 2026 United East Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll after receiving five first-place votes and 87 total points. 

St. Mary’s College of Maryland earned four first-place votes and finished second with 83 points. Penn College received the remaining two first-place votes and ranked third with 73 points.

Penn State Berks enters the season looking to build upon a historic 2025 campaign. After being selected fourth in last year’s preseason poll, the Nittany Lions recorded a team score of 44 at the United East Championship to capture the first men’s cross country conference title in program history.

Four Berks runners finished among the top nine, while all five of the Nittany Lions’ scoring runners earned All-Conference honors. Head coach Ryan Foster was named the United East Coach of the Year following the championship performance. Trent Jordan is the Nittany Lions’ top returning runner after placing third at last year’s championship. Jordan completed the 8-kilometer course in 27:51.18 to earn First Team All-Conference honors.

“Last year, we knew we had a chance to win the title,” Foster said. “We had a solid core five returning who all bought into the ‘Berks Way.’ When the poll came out and we were picked to finish fourth, I think it motivated the guys and made them run with a chip on their shoulders all season."

“Now, coming into this year as the favorite to repeat, I’m excited to see how the men handle the new challenge, especially in front of our home crowd. I think the fans can expect to see a young team continue to mature and work together to not only win their second title, but make a push for the program’s first-ever regional ranking in a loaded Mid-Atlantic Region.”

The defending champions will add five freshmen to an experienced group of returners as they pursue another conference title.

“I think the biggest key for our season to be successful is that the upperclassmen need to lead by example and show our freshmen what it takes to win a title,” Foster said. “We have a solid group of five freshmen, all of whom could be in contention for Rookie of the Year, who are hungry to win a title."

“While winning is a big motivator for the younger guys, it can also cause them to get frustrated in the process if the results aren’t where they want them. Having a group of upperclassmen who have seen the success here, seen that the training works and experienced a title, I think will help guide our newcomers through the growing pains. If this happens, it should be a great Halloween.”

St. Mary’s was selected second after finishing as the runner-up at the 2025 championship with 55 points. Sophomore Brandon Smoot returns as the Seahawks’ top runner after placing fifth with a time of 28:47.30. Smoot earned First Team All-Conference honors and will look to improve upon his championship performance this fall.

Penn College ranked third in the preseason poll after placing third at last year’s championship with 86 points. Chase Ebeling returns to lead the Wildcats after finishing 12th with a time of 30:36.52 and earning Second Team All-Conference recognition.

Penn State Harrisburg was selected fourth with 64 points after placing seventh at last year’s championship, while Lancaster Bible College ranked fifth with 62 points following a fifth-place finish in 2025. Penn State Abington received 58 points to place sixth in the poll after taking fourth at last season’s championship.

Cairn University ranked seventh with 49 points, followed by Gallaudet University in eighth with 41 points. Gallaudet will be led by defending individual champion Sevan Ikeda, who completed last year’s championship course in 27:23.21. Ikeda earned First Team All-Conference honors and was named both the United East Runner of the Year and Rookie of the Year.

Notre Dame of Maryland University was selected ninth with 32 points, Keystone College ranked 10th with 30 points and Penn State Brandywine rounded out the poll in 11th with 26 points.

The 2026 United East Men’s Cross Country Championship will be hosted by Penn State Berks on Saturday, October 31, at Union Canal Tunnel Park in Lebanon, Pa. Competitors will race over an 8-kilometer (4.96-mile) course as 11 institutions vie for the conference championship.

Each team’s top five finishers will count toward its team score. A team’s sixth and seventh runners will not contribute to their own team’s score but may displace scoring runners from opposing teams.

The complete 2026 United East Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll is listed below.

	Teams	Points	First-Place Votes
1	Penn State Berks	87	5
2	St. Mary's College of Maryland	83	4
3	Penn College	73	2
4	Penn State Harrisburg	64
5	Lancaster Bible College	62
6	Penn State Abington	58
7	Cairn University	49
8	Gallaudet University	41
9	Notre Dame of Maryland University	32
10	Keystone College	30
11	Penn State Brandywine	26