STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford cross country grabbed high praise in this season’s preseason rankings as the Cardinal enters its second season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Under the direction of the Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, J.J. Clark, and assistant coach Ricardo Santos, the Cardinal men and women rank sixth in the USTFCCCA NCAA DI National Cross Country Coaches Poll.
Having taken second place on the women’s side and third in the men’s races at the 2024 NCAA DI West Regionals, the Cardinal rank first in the West Region in the USTFCCCA Preseason NCAA DI West Region Coaches Poll on the men’s side while the Cardinal women rank second.
Stanford, which took second place in both the men’s and women’s races at last season’s ACC Championships, was chosen to place in third on both sides in the 2025 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Cardinal men were slotted behind favorites Wake Forest (285 points, 15 first-place votes) while Virginia slotted second (258 points, 1 first-place vote), just two points ahead of Stanford. On the women’s side, the Cardinal secured 289 points, slotting behind preseason favorites NC State (308 points, 12 first-place votes) and Notre Dame (301 points, 6 first-place votes).
Stanford opens its season at the 31st annual USF Invite at Hellman Hollow inside Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The women’s six-kilometer kicks off the afternoon at 2 p.m. while the men’s eight-kilometer will follow at 3 p.m.