RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - On Thursday, August 21, the Great American Conference released the 2025 Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll that has the reigning GAC champions, the Ouachita Baptist Tigers, ranked first with eight of the twelve first-place votes. Going into his second season as the Mulerider Cross Country/Track & Field head coach, James Bowlin's Muleriders will begin the campaign seventh overall according to the league's coaches.
Southern Arkansas is voted into seventh-place for the conference with 62 points, in which the team is twelve points ahead of Northwestern Oklahoma State and is sixteen points behind Southeastern Oklahoma State.
Eight Muleriders from the 2024 roster make their return, which includes
Emma Dudley, Savannah Esterline,
Cantley Gosdin,
Cheyenne Olson,
Madyson Pence,
Rylee Robinson,
Rachel Solano, and
Ava Zindler. Along with the eight returners, Bowlin adds four newcomers to his second group of Mulerider Women.
The Mulerider Women competed in five meets last fall as they finished 5
th of 10 at the Mississippi College Season Opener (Clinton, Miss. | Sep. 6), finished 14
th of 18 at the Southern Stampede (Joplin, Mo. | Sep. 20), finished 19
th of 46 at the Old Glory Gallop (Dallas, Texas | Oct. 5), finished 3
rd of 6 at the Ouachita Tiger Invitational (Arkadelphia, Ark. | Oct. 11), and then finished 7
th of 12 at the 2024 Great American Conference Cross Country Championships (Oct. 26).
For the 2025 season, Southern Arkansas is penciled in for five meets heading into Coach Bowlin's second year with his Muleriders. Four of the five meets are set to take place in the Natural State. To start the campaign, SAU travels to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, for the Bob Gravett Invitational hosted by Ouachita Baptist (Sep. 6). Just about two weeks after that meet, the Muleriders are set to host the Lois Davis Invitational once again on the campus of Southern Arkansas University (Sep. 19). Keeping it in-state, Southern Arkansas travels to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Chile Pepper Festival hosted by the University of Arkansas (Oct. 4). For the team's first and only regular season meet outside of Arkansas, SAU heads to Dallas, Texas for the Old Glory Gallop hosted by Dallas Baptist University (Oct. 11). Back in the Natural State for the final meet of the already scheduled season, the Muleriders drive out to Monticello, Arkansas for the 2025 GAC Cross Country Championships (Oct. 25).
