GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman men's cross country team is ranked first in the NCAA Southeast Region preseason poll and 12th in the national poll, while the Paladin women's team ranks third in the region and 24th nationally, according to this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings.

Last Friday, the previously unranked Paladin men took down 15 ranked teams at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, including four top-10 teams:  fifth-ranked North Carolina, No. 9 Notre Dame, eighth ranked-Air Force, and No. 4 Wisconsin.  Top-ranked Northern Arizona won the race with 76 points, followed by No. 3 BYU in second with 162 points.  No. 6 Syracuse finished third with 251.  Furman scored 294 points for ninth place.

Senior Dylan Schubert, who is returning from an illness, led the Paladins with a time of 23:55.3 on the 8K course.  Senior Cameron Ponder turned in a time of 24:10.1 for 58th place, and senior Carson Williams placed 71st at 24:14.8.  Senior David Ahlmeyer finished 103rd with a time of 24:22.2, and junior Nick Goldstein completed the five Furman scorers in 139th place at 24:36.6.  Sophomore Luke Taylor crossed the line in 26:09.5 for 226th place.

After the Wisconsin race, the Paladin men vaulted from No. 8 to No. 1 in the Southeast Region. Furman went head-to-head against three Southeast Region programs and came out on top.  The Paladins finished ninth, while North Carolina tied for tenth, and Wake Forest was 16th, followed by Eastern Kentucky in 17th. 

On the women's side, the Paladins scored 438 points for 18th place in the loaded field.  No. 2 Northern Arizona won the title with 52 points, while top-ranked N.C. State finished second with 95 points.  No. 11 Georgetown claimed third place with 208 points.   

Sophomore Carly Wilkes led Furman for the second-consecutive race, posting a time of 20:37.9 on the 6K course.  Junior Kaylie Armitage placed 71st with a time of 20:53.9, and senior Abigail Robertson finished 82nd with a time of 20:56.0.  Junior Sierra Bower was close behind Robertson in 84th place at 20:56.3, and senior Nicole Matysik finished the scoring in 170th place at 21:43.8.  Sophomore Jenna Mulhern turned in a time of 21:48.9 for 178th place.  Senior Bethany Graham was unable to compete due to an injury.

In September, the Paladin women won the 44th annual Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational at the Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course on Chicago's north side.  Furman scored 58 points for the victory, beating out No. 25 Ole Miss, who finished second with 66 points, and 17th-ranked Wisconsin, who placed third with 94 points.  

The win in Chicago marked the third-straight victory for the Paladin women, who opened the season with a win at the Eye Opener in Spartanburg, S.C.  Furman scored 25 points for the victory in the 5K race.  Clemson finished second with 58 points, followed by Liberty in third with 82 points.  South Carolina scored 83 points for fourth place. 

The Paladins returned home to Greenville two weeks later to capture the team title at the Furman Invitational on September 16.  The Furman women ran as a pack and finished 3-4-5-6-7 to win the meet with 25 points.  SEC foe Tennessee placed second with 42 points, while Clemson finished third with 80 points.  

USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning team strength with current-season results in determining predicted team finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships.

The Paladins are looking ahead to the Southern Conference Championship, which will be held Oct. 27 in Greensboro, N.C.  Furman is seeking its 11th-straight league title on both the men's and women's sides.