CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The High Point University women's cross country team starts off the season once again ranked first in the Big South Conference for a sixth year in a row. The Panthers received six first-place votes from other teams in the conference. 

High Point has won the Big South title for the past nine years and will return, Big South Runner of the Year and three-time Individual Champion, Brianna Malone. A season ago, they competed in four meets during the regular-season, won the Big South Conference Championship and placed 14th at the NCAA Southeast Regionals.
 
2026 BIG SOUTH WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON POLL
 

Rk - School (first-place votes)	Points
1 - High Point (6)	76
2 - Charleston Southern (3)	69
3 - UNC Asheville	65
4 - Radford	53
5 - Longwood	49
6 - Winthrop	35
7 - USC Upstate	25
8 - Gardner-Webb	20
9 - Presbyterian College	13

 
The Panthers bring back Malone and Danielle Jensen, who were named to the Big South First Team All-Conference after their first and second place finishes, respectively. Malone clocked a time of 16:59.5 and Jensen set a personal record of 17:23.3 in the 5k.
 
High Point women's cross country starts the season off at Elon University on September 4, where they will compete at 8:15 p.m.