NEW YORK | The defending champions are expected to stay on top. The United States Merchant Marine Academy has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2025 Skyline Conference Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Poll, as voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches.

The Mariners, who captured their sixth straight Skyline title in 2024, received nine first-place votes and totaled 107 points to lead this year’s preseason rankings.

St. Joseph’s-Long Island, the 2024 runner-up, checked in second with 87 points and one first-place vote. Maritime (83 points) and Farmingdale State (82 points) finished just one point apart in third and fourth, while Manhattanville (79 points) rounded out the top five.

Purchase tallied 75 points for sixth place, while Sarah Lawrence (65 points) and Mount Saint Mary (53 points, one first-place vote) followed in seventh and eighth, respectively. Yeshiva (51 points) edged out Mount Saint Vincent (45 points, one first-place vote) for ninth. Old Westbury (33 points) and St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn (32 points) rounded out the poll.

The 2025 Skyline Conference Men’s Cross Country Championship will be held on Sunday, October 26, hosted by Purchase College.
 

2025 Skyline Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank, Team (first-place votes), Pts.

1. Merchant Marine (9),107
2. St. Joseph’s-Long Island (1), 87
3. Maritime, 83
4. Farmingdale State, 82
5. Manhattanville, 79
6. Purchase, 75
7. Sarah Lawrence, 65
8. Mount Saint Mary (1), 53
9. Yeshiva, 51
10. Mount Saint Vincent (1), 45
11. Old Westbury, 33
12. St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn, 32