BUENA VISTA, Va. - Ahead of the 2026 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the USA South released its annual Pre-Championship poll for the conference meet, voted on by the Head Coaches of each school.

After garnering seven of a possible seven first-place votes, Southern Virginia University's women's track and field team has been picked to capture the USA South crown. It would be the Knights fifth team title in as many tries as they look to continue a half-decade of dominance. 

Meredith received the only other first-place vote and sits third in the poll just behind North Carolina Wesleyan.

While Southern Virginia sets its focus to USA South competition, they have slowly been a program on the rise in the regional and national ranks. 

They have at least ten athletes who hold top 10 regional marks in their respective events, and two, Bayleigh Redd-Armstrong and Marin Simons, with top 15 marks nationally which currently has them in position to qualify for the NCAA Division lll Outdoor Championships.

The throws unit of Mikki Prows, Kadance Sawyer, and Surraiya Mahmud-Newman among others, has been particularly impressive.

The Knights combined for 38 points in just two throws events during the indoor conference meet in February. They'll look to build on that performance outdoors. 

Amee Newman has shown significant improvement in the mid-distance events since arriving on campus in January. She nearly became the second-ever in program history to run under five minutes in the mile, crossing the line in 5:02.43 in Lynchburg less than two weeks ago.

USA South Championship

The USA South title will be competed for in Concord, North Carolina at the Jay M. Robinson Mondo Track & Field Facility, home of the last two conference championship meets.

Events will be held from Friday, April 24th, through Saturday, April 25th. The women's hammer is the first event to take flight at 1:30 PM ET. Live results and a meet schedule are available HERE.

For the most up-to-date information on the team and a meet schedule, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knightxctf on Instagram.