OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Evergreen State College women's cross country team ranked ninth in the 2026 Cascade Collegiate Conference Preseason Poll. College of Idaho is listed at the top of the poll with 142 points and 10 of the 12 first place votes.

Last fall at the 2025 CCC Championships, the Geoducks took seventh place. Alauna Carstens (Sr. in 2026) won the CCC Championship in the women's 6-kilometer race with a time of 20:49.60 and went on to take fourth place in the nation at the 2025 NAIA Cross Country Championships in 21:02.1.  She earned All-Conference recognition for the second time in cross country and was honored as an NAIA All-American in cross country for the second time.

Head Coach Joel Person is entering his fourth year leading the Geoducks in cross country and track and field.

Evergreen is scheduled to open the season on Friday, Sept. 4 at the Linfield Harrier Classic at Joe Dancer Park in McMinnville, Oregon. The 2026 CCC Championships will be held on Friday, Nov. 6 at the Lewis-Clark State College Cross Country Trail in Lewiston, Idaho.

After College of Idaho in this year's CCC Preseason Poll was Southern Oregon University with 126 points and one first place vote. Eastern Oregon University was third with 116 points, and Lewis-Clark State was fourth with 110 points.

Corban University followed in fifth place in the poll with 90 points. Trinity Western University (Langley, BC, Canada) was listed sixth with 75 points and one first place vote. Oregon Tech held seventh place with 72 points, Northwest University was eighth with 62 points, and Evergreen was ninth with 58 points.

Bushnell University was 10th with 44 points. Walla Walla University was next in 11th place with 23 points. Warner Pacific University was 12th with 15 points.

Led by Carstens, the Geoducks return last year's top five finishers at the CCC Championships, with four runners competing this fall and the other runner joining the Evergreen coaching staff. In addition to Carstens, top returning competitors from the CCC meet are Sherlyn Perales (Sr.), Madison Palek (Sr.), and Dani Buttrell (Jr.). Izabelle Trefts ('26) also scored for Evergreen at the CCC meet and is now an assistant cross country and track and field coach for the Geoducks.