COLONIA, N.J. – Both Roberts Wesleyan Cross Country programs have been chosen as the favorites in the 2026 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Preseason Polls, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Furthermore, Daemen senior CJ Johnson was picked as the Men’s Preseason Runner of the Year and Roberts junior Paige Moore (Reeser) was named Women’s Preseason Runner of the Year.
 
The Redhawks led the men’s poll with 48 points and six first place votes, while the women’s team was the unanimous favorites in the poll, collecting all eight first place votes for 64 points. Roberts continued its dynastic run, sweeping both the men’s and women’s team titles for an unprecedented 11th consecutive year at the 2025 ECC Cross Country Championships. In the men’s race, seven Redhawks finished inside the top 10, claiming second, third, fifth, and sixth for All-ECC First Team selections, followed by finishers eighth through 10 for All-ECC Second Team awards, sealing Roberts commanding win with 24 total points. On the women’s side, the Redhawks secured six out of the top 14 spots, scoring 20 points, with the individual champion, runner-up, fourth place and fifth place for All-ECC First Team accolades, and also had the seventh place and 14^th place runners on the All-ECC Second Team. The 11 total titles by the women’s program are the most by any program in ECC history, while the men’s 11 trophies are the most by any current ECC institution, and second-most all-time, only trailing LIU Post’s 13 championships. During the 11-year run by Roberts, the program has produced 14 Most Outstanding Runners, eight by a men’s athlete and six by a women’s runner, while producing 16 total dating back to 2012 when the Redhawks joined the ECC.
 
Daemen followed Roberts on the men’s side with 40 points and the final first place vote for a second place finish, with Molloy checking in at third place compiling 33 points. Closing out the poll were St. Thomas Aquinas (30), D’Youville (18), Queens (13), and Staten Island (12).
 
Molloy claimed the runner-up spot in the women’s poll behind Roberts, with 54 points, while D’Youville landed in third place with 47 points. Rounding out the poll were Daemen (42), St. Thomas Aquinas (26), Queens (25), Staten Island (21), and District of Columbia (9).

Johnson had a historical junior campaign for Daemen in 2025, becoming the first men's cross country runner in program history to run at the NCAA Division II National Championships. The Baltimore, Md. native claimed the 2025 ECC men’s individual title with a winning 8k time of 26:24.80, becoming the Wildcats first men's ECC Most Outstanding Runner, while also earning First Team All-ECC honors. Johnson earned USTFCCCA All-East Region honors as he placed seventh out of 112 runners with a 10K time of 32:18.8 at the NCAA Division II East Region Championship and punched his ticket to the NCAA Division II National Championships, earning an at-large bid.
 
Moore helped guide Roberts to its 11^th straight women’s title in 2025, after placing second at the ECC Championships. Originally from Denver, Pa., the junior picked up First Team All-ECC accolades, crossing the finish line with a time of 19:03.2 in the 5k race. Moore would go on to place fourth at NCAA Division II East Regionals with a personal record (22:05.7) to earn All-Region recognition from the USTFCCCA and qualified for NCAA Division II National Championships where she clocked a 22:28.6 in the 6k national race.
 
2026 ECC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Roberts Wesleyan - 48 points (6 first-place votes)
2. Daemen - 40 points (1 first-place vote)
3. Molloy - 33 points
4. St. Thomas Aquinas - 30 points
5. D'Youville - 18 points
6. Queens - 13 points
7. Staten Island - 12 points
 
2026 ECC Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Roberts Wesleyan - 64 points (8 first-place votes)
2. Molloy - 54 points
3. D'Youville - 47 points
4. Daemen - 42 points
5. St. Thomas Aquinas - 26 points
6. Queens - 25 points
7. Staten Island - 21 points
8. District of Columbia - 9 points
 
Men's Runner of the Year
CJ Johnson - Daemen
 
Women's Runner of the Year
Paige Moore - Roberts Wesleyan

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Founded as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1989 and rechristened the East Coast Conference in July 2006, the ECC was formed to enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way. The ECC is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes, which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits. East Coast Conference members include: Daemen University (Amherst, N.Y.); University of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.); D'Youville University (Buffalo, N.Y.); Mercy University (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); Molloy University (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); Queens College (Flushing, N.Y.); Roberts Wesleyan University (Rochester, N.Y.); College of Staten Island (Staten Island, N.Y.); and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.). The ECC also is home to 13 associate members in the sports of women’s bowling (3), men’s and women’s indoor track & field (3), men's volleyball (2), field hockey (1), and men’s lacrosse (1).

The ECC sponsors the following championship sports: baseball; men’s and women’s basketball; women's bowling; men’s and women’s cross country; field hockey; men’s and women’s lacrosse; men’s and women’s indoor track and field; men’s and women’s outdoor track and field; men’s and women’s soccer; softball; and men's and women’s volleyball.
 
The East Coast Conference is a proud member of the NCAA and Division II. Division II is a dynamic and engaging group of colleges, institutions and conferences of varying sizes and educational missions. Division II members encourage and support diversity; value sportsmanship, fairness and equity; and place the highest priority on the overall educational excellence of the student-athlete.