NEW ORLEANS, La. – The St. Olaf College men's cross country team landed its highest preseason national ranking since 2016 by checking in at No. 6 in the NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll, as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday afternoon.

After an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships last year, St. Olaf was ranked in a tie for sixth in this year's preseason balloting a day after checking in at No. 2 in the North Region in the regional rankings. The last time the Oles were ranked that high in the preseason was a No. 6 ranking in 2016. This year marked the fourth top-10 preseason national ranking in program history, along with 2014 (No. 1), 2015 (No. 2), and 2016 (No. 6).

Wednesday's balloting extended St. Olaf's streak of being nationally ranked to 57 polls going back to early in the 2018 season, which is the longest streak in program history. The Oles have earned 15 preseason national rankings since 2006 and have been ranked to start each of the last six seasons, excluding the canceled 2020 campaign.

Head coach Brian Power's program returns five of the seven runners who competed at the national meet last year, including three of the team's five scorers, and four 2024 all-region honorees. Rising senior Kevin Turlington leads the returners after earning All-America honors with a 20th-place national finish last fall.

St. Olaf will begin its season by hosting the Ole 5K Opener on Friday, Aug. 29 at 6 p.m.