In the second USTFCCCA poll of the season, Florida men’s and women’s cross country were both ranked in the top 15, with the men at No. 10 and the women at No. 14.
In the USTFCCCA preseason poll, the men were ranked at No. 21, and they were just one of six programs to begin the 2026 season ranked after ending their previous season unranked. In the 2025 season, the men were unable to clinch an NCAA Championship appearance, as they ended their season with a seventh-place finish in the NCAA South Regional Championship.
However, last season, the men were driven by 2025 SEC Champion Kelvin Cheruiyot, who was named an All-American, the 2025 SEC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Cheruiyot returned this year in the John McNichols Invitational on Sept. 19. He finished first in the men’s 8,000-meter race, carrying the team to a second-place finish. This performance led him to be named an SEC Men’s Co-Runner of the Week alongside No. 4 Alabama’s Dismus Lokira. On Sept. 21, Cheruiyot was also named the USTFCCCA Men’s Division I Athlete of the Week.
The second-place finish was a major contributor to the men’s 11-place climb in the rankings. At the John McNichols Invitational, Florida’s men competed against 11 other ranked squads, finishing above 10 of them, with the exception of No. 7 Brigham Young, who finished first.
In the preseason SEC poll, the men were picked to finish third behind Alabama and Arkansas. Although the former continues to serve as one of the nation’s top teams, having been ranked No. 4 in both of USTFCCCA’s polls, Arkansas has now fallen below Gators men in the polls.
While the Gators began the season at No. 21, Arkansas started out as No. 15. Arkansas has fallen slightly to No. 16, though, due to its inactivity as it will not race until Friday.
Florida has also ascended above conference foe Georgia, which was originally ranked No. 20 in USTFCCCA’s preseason poll. The Bulldogs have now fallen to No. 26 after their 15th-place finish in the John McNichols Invitational.
While the men have made major gains in the polls, the women remain at No. 14 following their fifth-place finish at the John McNichols Invitational.
For the women, their outing on Saturday was slightly less competitive than the men as they only competed against five other ranked teams, finishing only above No. 22 Washington.
Then-No. 8 Northern Arizona, No. 20 Utah, No. 21 Washington State and No. 25 Toledo finished in the top four.
However, while the Gators fell to three teams ranked significantly lower than them, they still had standout individual performances from junior Judy Chepkoech and sophomore Desma Chepkoech, who finished third and fifth, respectively. Only three other runners — Isobelle Jones, Maggie McCormick and Keeghan Edwards — finished in the top 100.
Still, Florida’s women’s performance at the John McNichols Invitational was not detrimental to their ranking, as the course they raced, the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, is known for being particularly challenging.
Located in Terre Haute, Indiana, it has been the site of 13 NCAA Championships and is difficult for runners due to its mix of uphill and downhill sections. These sections can be especially hard to tackle for young runners. Four of Florida’s eight competitors were freshmen.
Thus, Florida’s stalemate at No. 14 is rather well deserved as the women finished highly in the John McNichols Invitational in spite of the demanding terrain.
Of the four teams that finished above Florida, only one, No. 6 Northern Arizona, is currently ranked above it.
In the SEC preseason poll, the women were picked to finish second to Alabama, which has risen to No. 10 in the rankings after being ranked at No. 11 in USTFCCCA’s preseason poll.
No. 11 South Carolina is the only other SEC team to be ranked above Florida as the Gamecocks jumped up five spots from the preseason rankings following a first-place finish in the 2026 Eye Opener along with a second-place finish in the Adidas XC Challenge.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will compete in their final regular season meet on Oct. 9 at the Nuttycombe Invitational held in Madison, Wisconsin. Both squads look to continue their current success as they head into the championship season.
Contact Katie Mosley at kmosley@alligator.org. Follow her on X @kati3mosle7.
Katie Mosley is a freshman journalism sports & media major in her first semester at The Alligator. She currently serves as the Fall 2026 cross country reporter. In her free time, Katie enjoys watching her favorite sports teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, Kansas City Chiefs or Liverpool F.C. Katie also takes pleasure in hiking, kayaking and canoeing. One of her favorite traditions is going hiking in the Ozarks every summer.
