ST. PAUL – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) released the 2026 Men’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll on Friday with UW-Superior being predicted to win the conference championship. The poll is voted on by all the head coaches in the conference. Coaches cannot vote for their own team.
Complete poll
| Place |
School |
Points |
| 1 |
UW-Superior (3) |
31 |
| 2 |
Crown (2) |
29 |
| T3 |
Martin Luther (1) |
27 |
| T3 |
Northwestern (1) |
27 |
| 5 |
Bethany Lutheran |
15 |
| 6 |
Minnesota Morris |
12 |
| 7 |
North Central |
6 |
#1 UW-Superior: 31 points
The Yellowjackets led the preseason poll with 31 points and three first-place votes from their conference competitors.
Dylan Uitto returns as the defending individual champion, and UW-Superior has hoisted the team trophy for the past five-straight years.
Head Coach: Glen Drexler | 17th Season |
Top Returners:
- Dylan Uitto, Sr. | First-team All-UMAC| 2025 Championships: 1st, 26:18.1, 1st team finisher |
- Ben Placker, Sr. | First-team All-UMAC | 2025 Championships: 2nd, 26:32.1, 2nd team finisher |
- Maverick Hoogland, Jr. | First-team All-UMAC | 2025 Championships: 3rd 27:02.5, 3rd team finisher |
#2 Crown: 29 points
The Polars earned 29 points and two first-place votes in the poll to rank second.
Head Coach: Grant DeWitt | 4th season |
Top Returners
- Andrew Deedon, Jr.| 2024 All-UMAC |
- David Tuttle, So. | 2025 All-UMAC| 2025 Championships: 5th, 27:31, 1st team finisher |
- Andrew Johnson, Jr. | 2025 Championships: 20th, 29:18, 4th team finisher |
#3 Martin Luther & Northwestern: 27 points
The Knights and the Eagles earned 27 points and both teams received a first-place vote.
MLC Head Coach: Mark Weinkauf | 7th Season |
Top Returners:
- Eliott Heiderich, Jr. | 1x First-team All-UMAC, 1x Second-team All-UMAC| 2025 Championships: 8th, 28:00.8, No. 1 finisher |
- Levi Panitzke, Jr. | 1x Second-team All-UMAC | 2025 Championships: 15th, 28:51.0, No. 2 finisher |
- Daniel Ertman, Jr. | 1x Second-team All-UMAC (2024) | 2025 Championships: 24th, 29:43.4, No. 5 finisher |
UNW Head Coach: Patrick Fitzgerald| 3rd Season
Top Returners:
- Tyler Dueber, Sr. | 2025 All-UMAC|2025 Championship 7th , 27:57, 1st team finisher|
- Peter Kephart, Sr.| 2025 Championship 22nd, 29:21, 4th team finisher|
#5 Bethany Lutheran: 15 points
The Vikings received 15 points to rank fifth.
Head Coach: Dom Santina | 2nd Season|
Top Returners:
- James Younge| 2025 Championships: 18th place, 29:06, 2nd team finisher|
- August Weinstein| 2025 Championships: 28th place, 30:09.9, 3rd team finisher|
- Ben Matzke | 2025 Championships: 50th place, 32:15.2, 4th team finisher|
#6 Minnesota Morris: 12 points
The Cougars ranked sixth with 12 points.
Head Coach: Caroline Collet-Cruise | 2nd season |
Top Returners:
- Noah Johnson, Jr. |Second-team All-UMAC | UMAC All-Sportsmanship | 2025 Championships: 16th, 28:52, #1 team finisher |
- Ethan Koehler, Jr. |2025 Championships: 31st, 30:25, #2 team finisher |
- Daniel DeCory, So. | UMAC Academic All-Conference |2025 Championships: 39th, 31:06, #3 team finisher|
#7 North Central: 6 points
The Rams completed the poll with six points.
Head Coach: Mel Anderson| 1st Season
Top Returners:
- David Bjorge, Sr. | 2025 Championships: 34th, 30:37.8, 1st team finisher |
- Colton Hagen, Jr. | 2025 Championships: 45th, 31:35.2, 4th team finisher |
- Leighton Helander, Jr. | 2025 Championships: 37th, 30:52.7, 2nd team finisher |
Conference Championship
The 2026 UMAC Men's Cross Country Championship will be held Saturday, Oct. 31 in Winthrop, Minnesota. The athletes will be running an eight-kilometer course. The event will be hosted at the Winthrop Golf Club.