ST. LOUIS - Bradley and Drake have been predicted to take home the Missouri Valley Conference cross country championship titles in 2024 in a preseason vote by the head coaches. For the women, the Braves split the first-place votes evenly with Belmont at six a piece, separating the two by one point. For the men, the Bulldogs claimed the top spot with a strong seven first-place votes for 15 total points edging out Bradley and Belmont's two first-place votes each, for second and third, respectively.



The 2024 MVC women's cross country preseason poll tabs Illinois State (3rd, 41 points), Drake (4th, 46 points), Missouri State (5th, 67 points), and Indiana State (6th, 74 points) fill out the remaining top half. Northern Iowa(7th, 83 points), Southern Illinois (8th, 89 points), UIC (9th, 110 points), Murray State (10th, 115 points), with Valparaiso (11th, 134 points), and Evansville (12th, 137points) to round out the poll.



The 2024 MVC men's cross country preseason poll tabs Illinois State (4th, 44 points), Indiana State (5th, 56 points), and Southern Illinois (6th, 62 points) for the top six for the men. UIC (7th, 80 points), Valparaiso (8th, 86 points), Northern Iowa (9th, 96 points), Murray State (10th, 106 points), and Evansville (11th, 118 points) round out the poll.