NEW ORLEANS – The Kutztown Men's and Women's Cross Country programs each hold spots in the top 10 of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II Atlantic Region Polls, as announced by the organization last Tuesday.

The women's team opened the year in the fifth spot, as they were able to return five of the top six runners featured on the seventh-place NCAA Regionals squad a season ago. It recorded a first-place team finish this past weekend at the West Chester University Season Opener, placing three runners in the top four spots and six inside the top ten.

The men enter 2025 as the seventh-best team in the region, as the Golden Bears have a veteran-heavy team that will look to best its fourth-place conference finish from a season ago. Similar to the women's team, KU was able to top the field at the WCU Season Opener, sweeping the top five spots and placing finishers in seven of the top ten places.

The women's poll is led by Davis & Elkins of the Mountain East Conference (MEC), followed by Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) foes Slippery Rock, East Stroudsburg and Shippensburg. The men's poll features three teams from each of the MEC and PSAC ahead of Kutztown, with Charleston (W. Va.), Shippensburg and Davis & Elkins making up the top three.

Both teams will be home at the DII/DIII Challenge, on the North Campus Farm Course this Saturday, Sept. 13. The men's race is set to start at 9:30 a.m., while the women's race will follow at 10:15 a.m.