RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Southeastern cross country program was voted sixth in the 2025 Great American Conference Preseason Poll, the league announced Thursday.
Ouachita Baptist led the poll with 117 total points and eight first-place tallies. Arkansas Tech slotted in behind the Tigers in second with three first-place nods and 110 points, while East Central (95) secured the final first-place vote in third. Oklahoma Baptist tied with ECU with 95 total votes, and Harding and SE followed after with 80 and 78 points, respectively.
Head coach
Stephanie Heald and the Savage Storm return ten members from last season, who helped the blue and gold secure a fifth-place finish at the 2024 GAC Championship meet. SE's fifth-place finish at the conference meet was one of four top-five placements in 2024, including second-place finishes at the Rhodes Invitational and the Tiger Invite.
Among the returners for Southeastern are two All-GAC recipients, with
Ashlen Clem back for her senior year after earning First Team All-GAC honors and senior
Anjelika Abraham, who garnered Second Team honors. In addition to earning All-GAC marks, Clem added a program record in her first season at Southeastern in 2024, setting a new 5k event record time of 18:27.0 at the Old Glory Gallop, where SE placed 13
th out of 44 teams.
Southeastern begins its season on September 5
th with the Aggies Duels in Lawton, Okla. The Storm will compete in five events this year before heading to the GAC Championship meet in Monticello, Ark., on October 25
th.
