Steubenville, Ohio - The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) released their Preseason Coaches' Poll for Men's Cross Country on Wednesday morning. Franciscan was tabbed to finish third in the conference after winning the PAC Championship a season ago.
 

2025 PAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2024 Conference finishes
1. Geneva College (5)	112	2nd (of 10) at PAC Championships, 68 pts.
2. Grove City College (1)	98	5th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 77 pts.
3. Franciscan University (3)	96	1st (of 10) at PAC Championships, 67 pts.
4. Allegheny College (2)	94	6th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 148 pts.
5. Washington & Jefferson College	87	4th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 75 pts.
6. Saint Vincent College (1)	85	3rd (of 10) at PAC Championships, 70 pts.
7. Waynesburg University	56	8th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 256 pts.
8. Hiram College	49	9th (of 9) at NCAC Championships
9. Westminster College	47	7th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 235 pts.
10. Chatham University	29	9th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 258 pts.
11. Bethany College	20	10th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 305 pts.
12. Thiel College	19	Individuals only at PAC Championships

Runners to Watch
Three Barons were named PAC Runners to Watch for the upcoming 2025 season. 

The only returner that earned All-PAC honors a season ago was Andrew Madigan (Sr. Lawrenceville, N.J. / The Wilberforce School). He earned First Team honors while leading the Barons to the PAC Championship. Miguel Daez and Conal Delaney earned Second Team honors, and Ryan Ozymy was named Honorable Mention All-PAC. Madigan looks to elevate his game and takes a larger leadership role in 2025. Madigan earned three Top 10 finishes, including a 6th place finish at the PAC Championship. He posted a career-best time of 25:53.0 at the NCAA Division III Pre-Nationals in the 8K race. As the lone senior for 2025, Madigan looks to lead the championship defense in his final collegiate season.

Seamus Sommers (Jr. Muskego, Wis. / Trinity Academy) showed continued improvement in 2024 and looks to climb his way up the Franciscan rankings in 2025. He posted a career best time of 26:43.9 at the JennaStrong Fall Classic, and he was the sixth Baron to cross the finish line at the PAC Championship, as he placed 26th. Sommers looks to be among the top five runners for Franciscan, as he helps lead a younger roster.

One of those young runners is Maxwell Bruns (Fr. Gilbert, Ariz. / Arete Preparatory). He has made an immediate impression and looks to be a significant piece of this year's success. He comes to Franciscan after breaking numerous records in high school in track & field and cross country while even winning a State title as a team in track & field.

New Faces
Along with Bruns, there are several new faces that look to contribute in 2025. Micah Bragg, Rhodes Firestone, Chris Geiger, Jack McKnight, Garrett Russell, and Callum Wallenfang are new to the team this season, and they help make this roster one of the deepest in recent history. 

The Favorites
Geneva earned the majority of first-place votes to earn the #1 spot in this year's poll. They placed second last season, just one point behind the Barons, and they return four All-PAC runners. Grove City narrowly edged out the Barons to sit in second despite the Barons earning three first-place votes to the Wolverines' one. Allegheny earned two first-place votes to sit one spot below the Barons. 

Up Next
Franciscan will begin the 2025 at the same event that they started the 2024 season, as they travel to Westminster for the Fisher Invite 5K. Last season, the Barons placed second in this event with a score of 34 points. Andrew Madigan was able to win this event with a time of 16:10.83 to lead the way for the Barons. Seven PAC schools will be competing this season, as it will be a great early look at where we stack up against most of the conference. 

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