Women's Cross Country | 8/19/2026 2:30:00 PM

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Bloomsburg women's cross country team was selected to finish third in the 2026 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference Wednesday afternoon.

East Stroudsburg earned 12 first-place votes to claim the top spot in the poll, while Edinboro received three first-place votes and was selected second. The Huskies received one first-place vote to land third, one spot ahead of West Chester, which earned the remaining first-place vote. Shippensburg rounded out the top five.

Bloomsburg enters the 2026 campaign looking to build on a strong 2025 season in which the Huskies finished third at the PSAC Championships with 103 points. The third-place performance marked a two-position improvement from Bloomsburg's fifth-place conference finish in 2024.

Sophomore Olivia Magagna (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter Strasburg) headlines a deep group of returners for head coach Bernie Empie after a standout debut season. Magagna finished second at the 2025 PSAC Championships before placing eighth at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships and 87th at the NCAA Division II National Championships. She was named the PSAC Freshman of the Year and earned First Team All-PSAC and NCAA Atlantic All-Region honors.

Magagna's runner-up finish at the conference championship was the best by a Bloomsburg runner since Lauren Lehman won the PSAC individual title in 2014. She went on to become the first Bloomsburg freshman to compete at the NCAA Championships since Hannah Boudreau in 2014 and helped extend the Huskies' streak of sending an individual to the national meet to three consecutive seasons.

The Huskies return several additional runners with postseason experience, led by Alyssa Cunningham (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville Area), who finished 19th at the PSAC Championships and 66th at the NCAA Atlantic Regional last fall. Haley Conner (Elysburg, Pa./Southern Columbia) placed 40th at the conference meet and 97th at the regional championships, while Sydney Werner (Reading, Pa./Conrad Weiser) finished 53rd and 75th, respectively. Josephine Reed (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville Area) also returns after missing the 2025 postseason due to injury. Reed placed 33rd at the PSAC Championships and 53rd at the Atlantic Regional in 2024.

Lexi Tepper (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) adds another experienced runner to the returning group after posting track marks of 2:15 in the 800 meters, 4:33 in the 1,500 and 9:54 in the 3,000.

Bloomsburg also welcomes a promising group of newcomers led by Sophia Treglia (Dover, Pa./Northeastern Senior), Grace Fortin (Hughesville, Pa./Hughesville) and Laura Ochs (Muncy, Pa./Hughesville). Treglia enters with a cross country mark of 18:26 along with track times of 2:18 in the 800, 5:06 in the 1,600 and 11:11 in the 3,200. Fortin owns an 800-meter time of 2:14 and a cross country mark of 19:54, while Ochs enters with a 20:59 cross country time.

With a strong returning nucleus complemented by the incoming class, the Huskies enter the season with expectations of again competing among the top three teams in the PSAC while targeting a top-five finish at the NCAA Atlantic Regional.

Bloomsburg opens the 2026 season at the Saint Francis Father Bede Invitational in Tyrone on Saturday, Sept. 5. The Huskies return to action at the Lock Haven Invitational on Sept. 26 before hosting the Bloomsburg Invitational on Oct. 17.

The Bloomsburg Invitational will serve as a preview of the PSAC Championship course as the Huskies host the conference championships on the upper campus Saturday, Nov. 7. It marks the third time since 2019 that Bloomsburg will host the PSAC Cross Country Championships. The NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships are scheduled for Nov. 21 at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, North Carolina.

2026 PSAC Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
First-place votes in parentheses
1. East Stroudsburg (12)
2. Edinboro (3)
3. Bloomsburg (1)
4. West Chester (1)
5. Shippensburg
6. Kutztown
7. Slippery Rock
8. Millersville
9. Gannon
10. Clarion
11. Lock Haven
12. California
13. IUP
14. Pitt-Johnstown
15. Mansfield
16. Seton Hill
17. Shepherd