AUGUSTA, Ga. | The Peach Belt Conference preseason coaches poll for men's cross country has been released.
 
Georgia College & State University has been picked to finish third in the league for the second consecutive season.
 
Flagler College was top choice in the poll of men's cross country coaches with six first-place votes and 62 points, while Augusta University was next at 59. GCSU was third with 49 points and was followed by Clayton State University (39), Lander University (34), Columbus State University (28), University of South Carolina-Aiken (27), University of South Carolina-Beaufort (18) and Georgia Southwestern State University (8).
 
Flagler secured its first PBC Championship since 2016 and just the second in program history when they won the 2025 title. The Bobcats finished in third place for the second consecutive year. GCSU, which finished the 2025 season ranked No. 10 in the region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, came in ninth place at the 2025 NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championship.

The 2026 PBC Championship will be hosted by Middle Georgia State University Nov. 7 in Macon, Georgia.

The Bobcats open the season Sept. 5 when GCSU competes at the Julius Johnson Invitational hosted by Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.

About GCSU Athletics 
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for five consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 13 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won six consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and six-time winners of the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in postseason competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports or subscribe to the GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics.