The Midwest Conference released its 2018 Women's Cross Country Coaches Poll on Monday and Lake Forest College held the fifth-place spot in the rankings.
Voting is done by the MWC head cross country coaches. Each coach votes for the other nine schools in the league in order of predicted finish at the 2018 MWC Championship Meet. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (nine points for first, eight for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
The Foresters were fifth at last year's conference meet and have finished in the top half of the league each of the last five seasons. The team was led by current sophomore Yaneli Guajardo, who placed 12th in the league to earn MWC Newcomer of the Year honors.
First-year head coach Ciara Kissane's squad will begin the season at the Tom Barry Invitational in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on September 1. Lake Forest will host the Forester Invitational on September 14 and the MWC Championsships on October 27.
Preseason Coaches Poll
| PLACE | TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
| 1 | St. Norbert College (7) | 79 |
| 2 | Grinnell College (3) | 75 |
| 3 | Monmouth College | 61 |
| 4 | Cornell College | 55 |
| 5 | Lake Forest College | 53 |
| 6 | Lawrence University | 40 |
| 7 | Beloit College | 36 |
| 8 | Knox College | 25 |
| 9 | Ripon College | 14 |
| 10 | Illinois College | 12 |