GREENVILLE, S.C. – After top-two finishes in the past two Conference Carolinas Women's Cross Country Championships, including the 2023 conference crown, the Valkyries were once again predicted for a top-two finish, placing second in the 2025 Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll.

North Greenville, the 2024 conference champions, placed first with 224 points and 14 of the available first-place votes.

The Valkyreis placed second with 204 points and one first-place vote.

UNC Pembroke placed third with 191 points and the final first-place vote.

King ranked third with 185 points, followed by Lees-McRae in fifth with 173 points. Southern Wesleyan tallied 148 points in sixth, while Belmont Abbey had 142 points in seventh.

Young Harris and Emmanuel rounded out the teams over 100 points with 125 and 113, respectively.

Mount Olive, Erskine, Francis Marion, Shorter, Chowan, Ferrum and Barton round out the poll.

Conference Carolinas also released its Preseason Players to Watch. A pair of sophomores, Sara Aguiar Torre and Peyton MacMillian, and a junior, Paisley Stepp, received the distinction.

Stepp, a junior from Hendersonville, North Carolina, was a second-team all-conference finisher last season, finishing 14th out of 119 at the championship meet.

Aguiar Torre, a sophomore from Gijon, Asturias, Spain, finished 30th at last season's championship race.

MacMillan, a sophomore from Fort Mill, finished 43rd at last season's championship race.

The Valkyries begin the season as they host the Converse Kick-Off at Milliken Research Park on Friday, Sept. 5 at 6:30 P.M.
 
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