Wingate Selected by League Coaches as Favorite in Women's Indoor Track and Field Coaches' Poll

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The Wingate Bulldogs have been selected as the 2025-26 preseason Women's Indoor Track & Field favorite, according to the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll released today.

Wingate topped the poll with 10 first-place votes and 131 points, positioning the Bulldogs once again as the early frontrunners entering the indoor season.

Lenoir-Rhyne earned one first-place vote and totaled 111 points to secure the No. 2 spot, while Catawba also received one first-place vote and finished third with 106 points. Tusculum followed closely in fourth with 98 points, narrowly ahead of Lincoln Memorial at No. 5 with 95.

Anderson was picked sixth with 92 points, while Carson-Newman placed seventh with 76 points. Newberry came in eighth with 62 points.

Mars Hill earned 48 points to take ninth, while UVA Wise and Emory & Henry tied for 10th with 37 points each. Coker rounded out the preseason poll at No. 12 with 31 points.

In addition to the preseason rankings, the SAC released its Athletes to Watch list, highlighting top performers from each program expected to make key contributions throughout the indoor season.

The 2025-26 SAC Indoor Track & Field season officially begins this weekend and will run through the 2026 SAC Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C., Feb. 28–Mar. 1.

2025-26 SAC Women's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Poll