The 2026 Midwest Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll was released Tuesday morning and the Lake Forest College men were tied-for-eighth in the rankings.

Voting is done by the MWC head men's cross country coaches. Each coach votes for the other nine teams in the league in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (nine points for first, eight for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.

Lawrence University was atop the poll with 80 points and received eight first place votes. Runner-up Grinnell College and third-place Luther College shared the other two top votes and finished with 70 and 62 points, respectively. With 26 points, the Foresters were tied with Monmouth College for eighth.

The Lake Forest men placed ninth at the 2025 MWC Championship Meet after finishing eighth the previous two seasons. Among the returning runners on this year's team is Owen Lashenik, who was the team's top runner in every race last year and earned All-MWC honors with a 13th-place finish at the conference meet.

Patrick Austin will begin his fifth season as the Foresters' head coach at Lewis University's Flyer Early Bird on Friday. Lake Forest will also attend regular season meets hosted by Wheaton College, Augustana College, and Beloit College. Beloit will also host the 2026 MWC Championships on October 31 and Augustana the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional two weeks later. The NCAA Division III Championships will be held in Northfield, Minnesota, on November 21.