NASHVILLE – A veteran Trevecca Nazarene University men's cross country team enters the 2026 season picked No. 9 in the Gulf South Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 

Trevecca received 20 points in voting by the league's 10 head coaches.

The Trojans enter their first cross country season under Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Joe Frye with a nine-runner roster made entirely of juniors and seniors.

Lee is the GSC preseason favorite after receiving nine of the 10 first-place votes and 81 points.

UAH collected the remaining first-place vote and is second with 72 points, followed by Mississippi Christian with 63, AUM with 59, and Union with 44.
 

Montevallo is sixth with 34 points, followed by Christian Brothers with 33, West Alabama with 32, Trevecca with 20, and Valdosta State with 12.

The preseason prediction gives Trevecca an opportunity to move up the conference standings after finishing 10th at the 2025 GSC Championships and 14th at the NCAA South Regional.
 

2026 GSC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES' POLL

First-place votes in parentheses.
 

2025 | A SEASON OF PROGRESS

Trevecca showed flashes throughout the 2025 season before delivering several of its best performances in the postseason.
 

Caleb Hinson set the early pace in the season-opening Southern Showcase, running a personal-best 25:53.7 over 8K. Joshua Novotny followed in 26:08.6, while Garrett Wilson finished in 26:35.6. Trevecca finished 10th among the NCAA Division II teams in a field featuring primarily Division I programs.

The Trojans followed by finishing second at the Michael Pretorius Invitational, trailing only NCAA Division I Lipscomb. Hinson, Novotny and Wilson each finished in less than 28 minutes, while Jack Jaeger, John Dalton, Joel White and Dominic Paliaro all broke 29 minutes.
 

Seven Trojan harriers finished the Louisville Classic in fewer than 28 minutes, again paced by Hinson who nearly broke the 26-minute mark for the second time on the season. Novotny finished in a sub-27 minute time (26:55.5),

The postseason produced another series of personal bests.

Novotny ran 25:06.8 at the Gulf South Conference Championships, while Jaeger finished in 26:13.3, Caden Meeks in 26:31.5, Dalton in 26:49.2, White in 27:12.9, and McCaden Selby in 29:17.6.

All six established personal bests at the GSC championship.
 

Trevecca finished 10th as a team in the GSC before moving to the 10K distance for the NCAA South Regional.

The Trojans placed 14th at the regional meet, with each of Trevecca's top five runners averaging faster than a six-minute mile.
 

VETERAN ROSTER RETURNS

Trevecca's current roster features nine runners, and each competed with the program last season.

Hinson returns as a junior after producing one of the Trojans' fastest performances of 2025. His 25:53.7 at the Southern Showcase was his season-best 8K, and his best placement came at Trevecca's Michael Pretorius Invitational, where he finished 13th.   

Novotny enters his junior season after producing Trevecca's fastest 8K during the 2025 postseason. He ran 25:06.8 at the GSC Championships and followed with a 34:16.1 in the 10K NCAA South Regional. His best placement of the season was 16th at the Michael Pretorius Invitational.
 

SENIOR CORE PROVIDES EXPERIENCE

Four seniors give Trevecca extensive championship experience.
 

John Dalton returns after establishing a personal best at the GSC Championships with his 26:49.2 performance.
 

Caden Meeks also produced his fastest 8K at the conference meet, running 26:31.5 before completing the NCAA South Regional 10K in 36:02.0.

Joel White ran 27:12.9 at the GSC Championships and posted a 36:51.9 at the regional.

Garrett Wilson gives Trevecca another runner with experience near the front of the Trojan lineup. Wilson ran 26:35.6 at the Southern Showcase and finished 21st at the Michael Pretorius Invitational.

Together, the group gives Trevecca four seniors who have competed in GSC and NCAA regional championship environments.
 

MORE RETURNERS ADD DEPTH

Junior Jack Jaeger enters 2026 after producing a strong finish to last season. Jaeger ran his season-best 8K of 26:13.3 at the GSC Championships before completing the regional 10K in 35:20.8, the second-fastest Trevecca time at the NCAA South Regional.

Junior Harley Kirkpatrick ran his best 8K of the season at the GSC Championships, finishing in 29:09.3.

Junior Blake Lance posted his top 8K performance at the Lewis Crossover with a 30:55.0.

The combination gives Kate Bucknam a roster with returning collegiate experience throughout the lineup and no freshmen listed on the current team.
 

A CHANCE TO MOVE UP

The preseason poll places Trevecca ninth, but several of the teams immediately ahead of the Trojans are separated by a relatively narrow margin.

West Alabama is eighth with 32 points, Christian Brothers is seventh with 33 and Montevallo is sixth with 34.

That puts only two points between sixth and eighth.
 

For Trevecca, the 2026 season offers a chance to close that gap with a roster that returns a strong lineup from last season.

At the top, Lee enters as the clear preseason favorite after receiving nine first-place votes.
 

UAH received the other first-place vote and is second, followed by Mississippi Christian, AUM and Union.
 

THE HERMITAGE BECOMES TREVECCA'S CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE

Trevecca's two home dates provide one of the most significant opportunities on the 2026 schedule.
 

The Trojans host the Michael Pretorius Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Andrew Jackson's Hermitage.
 

The meet also serves as a preview for the 2026 Gulf South Conference Championships, which Trevecca hosts at the same location Friday, Nov. 6.

The men's 8K at the Michael Pretorius Invitational begins at 8 a.m.
 

The Hermitage course is relatively flat with several rolling sections before an uphill run toward the finish. The layout also provides multiple viewing and coaching opportunities around the course.
 

Competing there in September gives Trevecca more than six weeks to learn the course before returning for the conference championship.
 

It also provides a new opportunity from 2025, when Trevecca finished second at its home invitational at the Vaughn's Gap Course at Percy Warner Park behind only NCAA Division I Lipscomb.
 

THE 2026 ROAD

Trevecca begins its season Friday, Sept. 18, at the Southern Showcase in Huntsville.
 

The Trojans produced several of their fastest early-season times at the same event in 2025, including Hinson's 25:53.7.
 

Eight days later, Trevecca hosts the Michael Pretorius Invitational at The Hermitage.
 

The schedule then sends the Trojans to the Lewis Crossover on Oct. 10 in Romeoville, Ill.
 

Trevecca returns to Huntsville on Oct. 24 for the UAH Festival Year Fiasco, the final scheduled competition before the conference championship.
 

GSC CHAMPIONSHIP COMES TO NASHVILLE

The 2026 Gulf South Conference Championships arrive at The Hermitage on Friday, Nov. 6.
 

For a Trevecca team picked ninth, hosting the GSC Championship provides the opportunity to measure its progress from the early-season home meet at the Hermitage and build progress toward exceeding those preseason expectations back at the Hermitage for the GSC Championships.
 

The Trojans finished 10th at the conference meet last season, but six runners established personal-best 8K times during the race.
 

With much of that group back in 2026, Trevecca returns to the championship with another year of experience and the advantage of already having competed on the course.
 

The NCAA South Regional follows Saturday, Nov. 21, in Huntsville.
 

Trevecca finished 14th at the 2025 regional.
 

The NCAA Division II National Championships are scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4, at Rim Rock Farms in Lawrence, Kan.
 

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