BRIGHTON, Mich. -- Hope College has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2026 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Women’s Cross Country Preseason Poll, collecting 60 points and five first-place votes. Calvin University follows closely with 58 points and three first-place votes, while defending MIAA champion Trine University received 51 points and one first-place vote.
The MIAA announced the preseason poll following a vote of the league’s nine head coaches. The 2026 season features a strong group of returning All-MIAA and USTFCCCA All-Region performers, along with several new faces in conference coaching positions.
1. Hope College – 60 points (5 first-place votes)
Hope finished second at the 2025 MIAA Championships with 55 points and brings back three Second Team All-MIAA performers from last season.
Junior Mary England placed 11th at the conference championship in a personal-best 22:29.6, earning Second Team All-MIAA honors. England also secured USTFCCCA All-Region recognition after placing 20th at the regional meet. Sophomore Taylor Mitchell joined England on the All-MIAA Second Team after finishing 12th at the MIAA Championships in a personal-best 22:29.7. Classmate Dylan Ballin rounded out the group after taking 13th in a personal-best 22:30.0 to earn Second Team All-MIAA recognition. Ballin also earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors with a 32nd-place regional finish.
2. Calvin University – 58 points (3 first-place votes)
Calvin placed third at the 2025 MIAA Championships with 56 points and will look to a talented sophomore class to help lead the Knights.
Brynn Ellenbecker earned Second Team All-MIAA honors after placing ninth at the conference championship in a personal-best 22:27.6. Ellenbecker also earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors after finishing 29th at the regional meet. Emma Wierenga collected Second Team All-MIAA recognition after finishing 10th at the MIAA Championships in a personal-best 22:27.7. Ayla Holben adds regional experience after earning 2025 USTFCCCA All-Region honors with an 18th-place finish. Junior Ellia Agar also rejoins the Knights after studying abroad during the 2025 fall season. Agar was named Second Team All-MIAA as a freshman in 2024, adding another experienced runner to Calvin’s lineup for the 2026 campaign.
3. Trine University – 51 points (1 first-place vote)
Trine enters the 2026 season as the defending MIAA champion after capturing the program’s first-ever MIAA Women’s Cross Country Championship with 22 points last season. The Thunder followed their conference championship by claiming the NCAA regional championship title.
Junior Courtney Study leads the returning group after earning First Team All-MIAA honors with a seventh-place finish at the conference meet in 22:24.9. Study also earned USTFCCCA All-Region recognition after placing 27th at the regional championship. Junior Grace Dubsky adds another All-MIAA and All-Region performer to the lineup. Dubsky placed 15th at the MIAA Championships in 22:33.0 to earn Second Team All-MIAA honors and finished 14th at the regional meet to secure USTFCCCA All-Region recognition.
Zach Raber was named the 2025 MIAA Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year after guiding the Thunder to their historic conference championship. Raber first joined the Trine coaching staff in 2013 as head coach of the men’s cross country program and has since taken over responsibilities for both the men’s and women’s teams.
4. Kalamazoo College – 45 points
Kalamazoo finished fourth at the 2025 MIAA Championships with 102 points.
Junior Nora O’Leary headlines the returning Hornets after earning First Team All-MIAA honors with an eighth-place finish in a personal-best 22:26.1. O’Leary also earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors after placing 21st at the regional meet. Juniors Allison Mayer and Ava King provide returning experience after finishing 25th and 26th, respectively, at last year’s conference championship. Mayer posted a time of 23:09.9, while King crossed the finish line in 23:13.3.
5. Saint Mary’s College – 33 points
Saint Mary’s finished fifth at the 2025 MIAA Championships with 159 points.
Senior Jordan Siminski is the Belles’ top returning runner after placing 30th at last year’s conference championship in a personal-best 23:30.0. Classmate Savannah Paulson also enters the season following a 33rd-place finish at the MIAA Championships in a personal-best 23:46.5.
6. Alma College – 29 points
Alma finished sixth at the 2025 MIAA Championships with 192 points.
Senior Chloe Colton leads the Scots’ returning group after posting a season-best 24:46.7 at last year’s MIAA Championships. Classmate Lauren Brawt also enters the season after recording a season-best 25:09.9 at the conference meet.
The Scots welcome Takashi Gould as their new head coach. Gould arrives at Alma after serving as the Assistant Coach for Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field at Trinity College, where he has been a member of the coaching staff since August 2022.
7. Adrian College – 23 points
Adrian placed seventh at the 2025 MIAA Championships with 217 points.
Senior Bridget Waterstradt is the Bulldogs’ top returning runner after finishing the conference championship in 24:13.3. Sophomore Lily Etelamaki and junior Olivia Hyatt also provide returning experience after finishing back-to-back at last year’s MIAA Championships, with times of 25:34.7 and 25:36.2, respectively.
8. Albion College – 16 points
Albion finished eighth at the 2025 MIAA Championships with 235 points.
Senior Veronica Paniccia leads the Britons’ returning group after posting a personal-best 26:45.5 at last year’s conference championship. Senior Taylor Adams also enters the season after finishing the meet in a season-best 26:54.1.
Albion alum Kiehl Smith takes over as the new head coach of the Britons. Smith comes to Albion after serving as head men’s and women’s cross country and assistant track and field coach at Eastern University from 2021-26. Former head coach Lance Coleman remains with the program as director.
9. The University of Olivet – 9 points
Olivet finished ninth at the 2025 MIAA Championships with 273 points.
Sophomore Landry Gomez is the Comets’ top returning runner after finishing last year’s conference championship in a personal-best 26:07.4. Senior Aubrey Connelly enters her final season after posting a 26:45.9 at the MIAA Championships.
Up Ahead
The 2026 MIAA Cross Country Championships will be hosted by Albion on October 31 at Marshall Country Club. The NCAA Division III Regionals are scheduled for November 14 at Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan. The NCAA Division III Championships will follow on November 21 at the Bill Huyck Championship Course in Northfield, Minnesota.