Fairfax, Va. – The George Mason men's cross country team is ranked
No. 2 in the 2026 Atlantic 10 Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll, as announced by the conference on September 4.
The Patriots, who will get their 2026 campaign underway this
Saturday, September 5, at the
Salisbury University Fall Classic in Salisbury, Maryland, received 157 points in the poll, as determined by votes from the A10's 14 head coaches. Only Loyola Chicago, voted No. 1 on all 14 ballots, received more, with 196.
2026 Atlantic 10 Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Loyola Chicago - 196 (14)
T-2. George Mason - 157
T-2. La Salle - 157
4. Saint Joseph's - 150
5. Rhode Island - 146
6. George Washington - 126
7. Saint Louis - 113
8. Dayton - 97
9. Richmond - 84
10. Fordham - 76
11. Davidson - 68
12. Duquesne - 56
T-13. St. Bonaventure - 22
T-13. VCU - 22
George Mason's ranking near the top of the A10 comes on the heels of a fourth-place finish at the Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championship last November.
Biruk Beardsley, whom the Patriots return this season, led George Mason with a fifth-place finish and earned A10 All-Conference honors.
Juniors
Luke Brown and
Jackson Rowe, the Patriots' respective third and fifth-best finishers at the Southeast Region Championship, are back in the fold as well in 2026, along with graduate students
Robbie Jenkins and
Alex DeRoussel.
The Patriots will look to build on their preseason momentum in Salisbury on Saturday and throughout a competitive race schedule that includes the Main Line Invitational on September 18, the Richmond Invitational on October 2, and the Princeton Fall Classic on October 16.
George Mason will then get the chance to back up its preseason ranking and build on last year's finish against the rest of the conference at the Atlantic 10 Championship on October 31 in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
