BRIDGEWATER, N.J.- FDU Men's Cross Country will start the 2025 season in eighth place in the NEC, per the conference's preseason poll, released on Monday. 

Defending champion Central Connecticut was unanimously voted to repeat as champion in the preseason poll. Wagner and Stonehill round out the top three of this season's preseason poll. The rest of the preseason poll can be found below.

1. CCSU (unanimous)
2. Wagner
3. Stonehill
4. (tie) LIU
    Saint Francis U
6. Le Moyne
7. New Haven
8. FDU
9. Mercyhurst
10. Chicago State

The Knights capped up a successful 2024 season by placing sixth in the NEC Cross Country Championships. FDU is returning its top five finishers from the NEC Championships a year ago. 

Luis Abreu (24th), Kidus Zeleke (32nd), Trevor Ehrlicher (36th), Chase Lopez (41st), and Brandon Barreto (47th), all finished in the top 50 at the NEC Championships, and all five are set to come back and run for the Knights in 2025. In addition to seven returning members, FDU will welcome six newcomers to the roster for the 2025 Cross Country season.

The Knights will open the season their season just as they did last year with the NJIT Season Opener in Newark, N.J. Action from Branch Brook Park will start at 5 p.m.