LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Kutztown University men's cross country team was tabbed as the No. 4 team in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) men's cross country preseason coaches poll, as announced by the conference Wednesday afternoon.
The Golden Bears finished seventh at last year's PSAC Championships, a performance they followed up with a ninth-place showing at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships. KU has posted top ten performances in each of the past four PSAC Championships, and they aim to enter the conference's top five teams in 2025.
Kutztown is set to be led on the course by senior
Adam Brocato (Reisterstown, Md./Calvert Hall), junior
Connor Murphy (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) and sophomore
Peyton Small (Littlestown, Pa./Littlestown). Brocato led the way for the Maroon and Gold a season ago, finishing four of his six races in the top 25 and concluding the year with a 26th-place run at the NCAA DII Atlantic Region Championships. The return of redshirt seniors
Port Habalar (Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) and
Jack Hollar (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Pocono Mountain East), combined with the addition of a handful of incoming first-year runners, hopes to be the solution that will lift head coach
Ray Hoffman's squad to the next level in the PSAC.
Defending PSAC Champion Shippensburg was the overwhelming favorite to repeat as the PSAC Champions, as they claimed 14 of the 15 first-place votes in the coaches poll. East Stroudsburg took home the other first-place vote and sat in second place, while Slippery Rock, Kutztown, and Lock Haven rounded out the top five.
The Golden Bears open the season at the WCU Opener at Unionville High School, hosted by West Chester University, on Friday, September 5. KU will have four regular season meets before competing in the PSAC Cross Country Championships in Edinboro, Pa., on Saturday, October 25.
2025 PSAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll (# of first-place votes in parentheses)
1. Shippensburg (14)
2. East Stroudsburg (1)
3. Slippery Rock
4. Kutztown
5. Lock Haven
6. IUP
7. Gannon
8. California
9. West Chester
10. Edinboro
11. Bloomsburg
12. Pitt-Johnstown
13. Seton Hill
14. Mansfield
15. Shepherd
