FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Concord University men's cross country team has been selected to finish third in the Mountain East Conference after the release of the preseason coaches' poll Wednesday afternoon by the MEC Office.
THE POLL
| Place |
Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
Charleston (10) |
120 |
| 2. |
Davis & Elkins (2) |
111 |
| 3. |
Concord |
84 |
| 4. |
Point Park |
83 |
| 5. |
Glenville State |
79 |
| 6. |
West Liberty |
67 |
| 7. |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
63 |
| 8. |
Shawnee State |
62 |
| 9. |
Frostburg State |
48 |
| 10. |
Fairmont State |
41 |
| 11. |
Wheeling |
23 |
| 12. |
West Virginia State |
11 |
2025 REVIEW
Concord was fourth at the MEC Championship last October, and secured a top-10 finish of eighth at the Atlantic Regional Championship—it marked the tenth straight year that the Mountain Lions were top 10 in the region. CU won its home meet, the Concord Invite, last season, and was the runner-up at the Catawba Fleet Feet Invite to begin the year.
2026 SCHEDULE
The season opens up September 4 for the Mountain Lions when they compete at the Virginia Tech Invite. Up next on the schedule will be the Southern Showcase September 19, and a week later CU is in action at the Atlantic Region Preview in Kernersville, North Carolina, September 25. The Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh is slated for October 2. The Concord Invite will be October 16 before postseason competition begins. The MEC Championship will be November 7 at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia. The Division II Atlantic Regional Championship will be back in Kernersville November 21.
THE RETURNERS
Senior
Braden Ward earned All-Atlantic Region last season which followed his All-MEC First Team performance. A total of nine Mountain Lions return to head coach
Jonathan Kigel's lineup with top-seven racing experience in their careers. Juniors
Brandon Canaday and
Reese Hickey both had breakout seasons in which they were in Concord's top five on several occasions. For Hickey, it culminated with a top-50 showing at the Atlantic Region Championship. Senior
AJ Skeens just missed All-MEC Second Team last season by finishing 21st at the MEC Championship. The senior duo of
Bramley Childress and
Andrew Tickle have been key contributors to the program throughout their careers, and sophomore
Johnny Walkup carried over a strong finish to cross country season to a successful outdoor track campaign.
THE NEWCOMERS
Six freshmen make up the new faces for the Mountain Lions with four in-state natives,
Landon Kennedy (Hurricane, West Virginia/Hurricane),
Dakota Pettry (Hinton, West Virginia/Summers County),
Sam Sears (Hinton, West Virginia/Summers County) and
Ben Tenney (Elkins, West Virginia/Elkins).
Oliver Jamieson (Johnson City, Tennessee/Science Hill) and
Roman Zentek (College Park, Maryland/DeMatha Catholic) round out the newcomers for CU.
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