BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — The Wagner Seahawks have been picked to finish fourth in the NEC by the league's coaches, the conference announced on Tuesday. 

The polls are out 🗳️

The conference's coaches have picked us to finished third ahead of the 2026 season. #LetsFly | #NECXC pic.twitter.com/OJgZBTvRLU
— Wagner Track & Field XC (@Wagner_XCTF) August 11, 2026
 

Wagner finished second at the 2025 NEC Championships, accumulating 67 team points for the team's best finish since winning the title in 1993. The Seahawks tied Saint Francis with 67 team points, but individual placings used to break the tie pushed Wagner ahead in the finish. Alongside the team finish, then-junior Rylee Ferretti captured the individual title with a 22:19.5 6K time to earn All-NEC honors. She also recorded three top-20 finishes throughout the season, including a ninth-place finish at the Paul Short Run with a college-best 21:14.2 6K time. 

This will be the second season under head coach Marvin Azor, as the team boasts 10 returners. Alongside Ferretti, senior Magui Calvo-Jorge, junior Kate Connolly, senior Victoria Ann Dziubela and graduate Angelina Olah bring a wealth of experience as reliable veterans, while sophomores Jaslene Merizalde and Rehanna Syed are each coming off a solid freshman campaign with the Seahawks. Merizalde was named to the NEC's All-Rookie team in 2025.

Reigning champion CCSU finds itself atop the poll with six first-place votes, coming off a 51-point effort at the 2025 NEC Championships to win the conference title. Stonehill sits in second with three first-place votes after finishing fourth at last year's championship, posting a 69-point team score. Rounding out the top half of the poll results, Mercyhurst finds itself in fourth. The complete preseason coaches' poll is below.

1. CCSU (6)
2. Stonehill (3)
3. Wagner
4. Mercyhurst
5. LIU
6. Le Moyne
7. FDU
8. New Haven
9. Chicago State

Wagner begins its 2026 schedule on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Stevens' Back to the Bowl meet, held at Holmdel Park in Holmdel, New Jersey.