GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Guilford College men's and women's cross country teams eye a breakthrough fall season, announcing their 2026 schedule of competition on Friday afternoon.
Factoring into the team placings at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship for the second straight season on the men's side, the Quakers posted their top finish at the event, taking 10
th last fall, and while the women's team did not qualify to score at the league championship event, their prospects are expected to be strong entering the new year.
"The Downback Invitational should be a great way to start out the season and let our freshmen and first-timers get used to college cross country," Head Coach
Kevin Scola said. "We have run well at the course (Yeti Invitational) in Shelby the last two years, so getting back there should really help us out, and the Kernersville (Spartan Classic) gives us something close to a home meet. We should be well prepared for the ODAC Championships and NCAA Regionals."
The Quakers will open this season down in Fayetteville, competing at the Downback Invitational, hosted by Methodist University on the morning of Friday, September 4. The lone different meet from Guilford's 2025 slate, the race should serve as a nice build up as the course will be a two mile competition starting at 10:00 AM for the women and a high school standard 5K for the men with the opening gun at 10:45 AM.
Saturday, September 19 sees GC's ensuing competition as they compete at the Yeti Invitational hosted by Cleveland Community College at a course in Shelby, N.C. that has seen a number of Quaker PR's over the past few seasons.
Guilford stays local after the calendar turns to October, heading down the road to Kernersville, N.C. and the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex for the Spartan Invitational. A great opportunity for fans to support the Quakers, the race's start time is not official as of yet, although last year it was run in the evening and the meet is scheduled for Friday, October 2.
GC's final tune-up before the ODAC Championship meet will be on Friday, October 9 as they head to the Livingstone XC Challenge, hosted by Livingstone College. Another fast course, Guilford has traditionally set strong marks in Salisbury, N.C., and it should be beneficial in setting the tempo and improving confidence ahead of the league championship event.
The ODAC Championship race will be hosted this season by Shenandoah University on the morning of Saturday, October 31. The women's 6K title race begins at 10:00 AM before the men start at 11:00 AM at Kernstown Battlefield.
The Quakers wrap up the fall, vining for spots at the NCAA Championship meet at the NCAA South Regional Championship race. It will be an ODAC host school for the event for the second-straight year, with the University of Lynchburg serving in the role, although the race itself will be down the road at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va. on Saturday, November 14.
| DATE |
EVENT |
HOST |
| Sept. 4 |
Downback Invitational |
Methodist University |
| Sept. 19 |
Yeti Invitational |
Cleveland Community College |
| Oct. 2 |
Spartan Classic |
UNC Greensboro |
| Oct. 9 |
Livingstone XC Challenge |
Livingstone College |
| Oct. 31 |
ODAC Championship |
Shenandoah University |
| Nov. 14 |
NCAA South Region Champ. |
University of Lynchburg |
| BOLD- In Greensboro Area |
Most event times, are to be announced at a later date. Competition dates and events are subject to change, visit GuilfordQuakers.com to stay up to date on the latest.
#GoQuakes
