RedStorm tabbed second in RSC coaches' poll

Rio Grande/RSC Sports Information
     OXFORD, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande has been picked as the No. 2 team in the 2025 River States Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll.
     The poll, announced Tuesday by the RSC office, saw each of the conference's 11 head coaches rank the other member schools in order of predicted finish.
     The RedStorm, who are led by led by two-time reigning Conference Runner of the Year Tyler Jenkins, who is entering his senior season, collected four first-place votes and 94 points in the balloting and were edged out of the top spot by rival and defending league champion Shawnee State University.
     The Bears enter the 2025 season as winners of nine consecutive conference championships in men's cross country, including two straight in the River States Conference.
     SSU grabbed six first-place votes and finished with 95 points.
     The top five of the coaches poll was rounded out by Indiana University East, which received the remaining first-place vote and 84 points, while Indiana University Kokomo and Midway tied for fourth with 68 points each.
     The Pomeroys of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are picked to finish in the middle of the conference, at sixth place with 54 points, while the bottom half of the poll sees WVU Tech seventh (45 pts.), Oakland City eighth (35 pts.), Brescia and IU Columbus tied for ninth with 25 points each and RSC newcomer Kentucky Christian rounding out the conference at 11th (12 pts.).
     The River States cross country schedule is scheduled to begin Friday, August 29, with five teams in competition, including three at the Thundering Herd Invitational on the campus of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.
     The season will culminate in Rio Grande, Ohio on Saturday, November 8, when a champion is decided at the River States Conference Cross Country Championships, with the University of Rio Grande serving as host school.