Men and Women Earn Preseason Great Lakes Regional Rankings
9/2/2026 1:30:00 PM | Cross Country
After being named favorites to repeat as Horizon League champions in the 2026 Under Armour #HLXC Preseason Poll, the Youngstown State men's and women's cross country programs made their mark on the Great Lakes Regional rankings.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association placed the men's side ninth and the women's side 15th in its preseason rankings which were announced this week.
It is the first time in program history both the men and women have been represented simultaneously in the preseason poll.
The men moved up three places in the regional rankings since the conclusion of the 2025 season, when they finished 12th at the Great Lakes Regional Championships. The Penguins are the only Horizon League team represented in the rankings and are the third-highest school representing Ohio, behind Toledo (sixth) and Cincinnati (seventh).
YSU leads fellow Ohio schools, including Mid-American Conference programs Ohio (11th), Akron (12th) and Miami (Ohio) (13th), and Big Ten representative Ohio State (14th).
This marks the 17th time the team has placed among the top 10.
The Penguins return Sage Vavro, Blaze Fichter and Brock Farris, who all individually placed in the top half of finishers at last season's Great Lakes meet.
Wisconsin is the top-ranked men's team in the Great Lakes Region.
On the women's side, the Penguins moved up one place in the regional rankings after posting a program-best 16th-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional Championships. It is the first preseason regional ranking for the women since 2013.
The women return McKinley Fielding and Caleigh Richards who both placed among the top 100 finishers at last year's Great Lakes race.
The Guins were the lone women's Horizon League squad to appear in the preseason rankings. Notre Dame is the top-ranked women's team in the Great Lakes Region.
Youngstown State opens the season at Youthtowne Fields in Clinton, Pa., on Sept. 11 at the RMU Colonial Invitational. The women will begin the season with a 6K race, followed by the men's 8K.
