Melbourne, Fla.- Under the guidance of first year head coach Mark Rennix, the Palm Beach Atlantic men's cross-country team was selected to finish in fifth place in the preseason SSC poll voted on by the conference coaches.  

Florida Southern, reigning back-to-back conference champions, were voted to take their third consecutive title with 81 points and nine first-place votes. Tampa came in second with 69 points. Embry-Riddle rounded out the top three with 67 points and the final first-place vote. Eckerd returns to the men's cross-country circuit for the first time in 24 years. They are picked to finish in tenth.  

The Sailfish return a large number of runners from last year's team that made it to the NCAA South Regional tournament last November under interim head coach Allie Busch. Despite losing national qualifier Pierre Mercier and regional runner Ethan Wattles both to graduation, the Sailfish return Aedan Lydon, Joseph Basara and Hayden Tank who ran at regionals for the 'Fish. Rennix also welcomes a strong incoming class for the 2025 season. 

The Sailfish kick off the season on September 6th in Lakeland at the Swan City XC Classic hosted by the Southeastern University Fire. The SSC Championships will be held in Lakeland along with the NCAA South regional meet in the same location. The NCAA D2 national championships this year are held in Kenosha, Wisconsin on November 22nd.