Over the past two years since joining the River States Conference, the Shawnee State men's cross country program and rival Rio Grande have been involved in dandy battles at the River States Conference Championship Meet -- with Shawnee State emerging victorious on both occasions in 2023 and 2024.

Now, entering its third and final year in the RSC, the Bears are looking to close out their time in the conference realm -- and in the NAIA as well -- with a bang as Shawnee State has been picked to win its third straight conference title and its 10th consecutive between its time in the RSC as well as the Mid-South Conference.

In heading the River States Conference Preseason Poll, Shawnee State edged Rio Grande by one point, as the Bears posted 95 points and six first-place votes to the RedStorm's 94 points and four first-place markers.

Indiana-East -- who, like Shawnee State and Rio Grande, hovered in and around the national poll throughout the 2024 season -- finished in third place, claiming 84 points and a first-place vote. Indiana-Kokomo and Midway, who garnered 68 pulls apiece, tied for fourth.

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (54 points), West Virginia Tech (45 points), Oakland City (35 points) rounded out the sixth through eighth spots in the poll, while Brescia and Indiana-Columbus (25 tallies each) and Kentucky Christian (12 markers) rounded out the remaining group.

In addition to bringing back two runners who finished in the national top-100 at the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships in Isaiah Lanoy and Trevor Lanoy, fellow brother Kaiden Lanoy also returns as the triplets look to lead the group. Along with that trio, promising underclassman Connor Darnell returns from an injury suffered during the regular season, while senior Garrett Carver, junior Jerry O'Dell and sophomore Eli Lengl, a NCAA Division II transfer from Findlay, figure to factor into the mix of scoring runners for Shawnee State.

Along with the above, graduate student Malachi Shugert, senior Jared Flowers, junior Rowen Lloyd, sophomore Walker Pannell and freshman Dakotah Sanders round out another competitive roster for Conner Flynn's group.

For more information on the Shawnee State men's cross country program, visit https://ssubears.com/sports/mens-cross-country and https://www.instagram.com/shawnee_state_xctf/.