LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) released its women's cross country preseason coaches' poll on Wednesday afternoon. Following an excellent 2025 season, which included a fourth-place finish at the PSAC Championships in Edinboro, the Golden Rams' top finish since 2019, West Chester was picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches' poll, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.
West Chester enjoyed an excellent performance at the 2025 PSAC Championships, led by
Kristina Tapia (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley), who placed seventh in 22 minutes and 43.40 seconds as one of two Golden Rams to earn First Team All-League honors.
Jessalyn Welsh (Enola, Pa./East Pennsboro), who returns to the lineup alongside Tapia, was the other First Team All-League honoree as she took 15
th in 23:15.30, while
Ellie Goldberg earned Second Team honors with a 30
th-place finish in 23:44.90.
East Stroudsburg, who won the team title in 2025, was picked as the preseason favorite to repeat as Conference Champions with 12 first-place votes, followed by Edinboro with three votes in second, Bloomsburg in third with one, and West Chester in fourth with the lone remaining first-place vote. Shippensburg rounded out the top five and was followed by Kutztown, Slippery Rock, Millersville, Gannon, and Clarion to round out the top 10.
West Chester will be back in action on Friday, September 4, in Coatesville for the WCU Season Opener for one of three meets hosted by the Golden Rams this fall. West Chester will also visit Dickinson for the Long-Short Invitational on September 12, Lehigh for the Paul Short on October 2, Bloomsburg for the Bloomsburg Invitational on October 17, and Lock Haven for the Go-Fast River Run on October 24. West Chester will head back to Bloomsburg on November 7 for the PSAC Championships ahead of the Atlantic Regional Championships in North Carolina on November 21.
