KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On Thursday, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the results of the first regular season version of the NAIA Cross Country Top-25 Ratings. The Milligan University women's squad was deemed the top outfit in all the land after starting the preseason at No. 2.
The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each rater rates the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place, 28 for third-place and so on through the list. The highest and lowest ratings for each team are removed. The rating is rated by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and unaffiliated groupings.
A leap up one spot to No. 1 in the first regular season poll shows the national optimism for the Lady Buffs' season. Returning runners have stepped up for the Lady Buffs, especially reigning Appalachian Athletic Conference Runner of the Week
Joanna Halterman, as they picked up 545 points, outpacing Dordt (Iowa) by just a single tally in the rating.
The full ratings are listed below:
NAIA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY COACHES' TOP 25 RATING (SEPT. 24)
| RANK |
LAST TIME |
INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] |
POINTS |
| 1 |
2 |
Milligan (Tenn.) [10] |
545 |
| 2 |
3 |
Dordt (Iowa) [6] |
544 |
| 3 |
4 |
College of Idaho [3] |
531 |
| 4 |
9 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
492 |
| 5 |
5 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
491 |
| 6 |
7 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
450 |
| 7 |
12 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
431 |
| T-8 |
15 |
Grace (Ind.) |
411 |
| T-8 |
8 |
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
411 |
| 10 |
16 |
Saint Mary (Kan.) |
401 |
| 11 |
1 |
Taylor (Ind.) [1] |
393 |
| 12 |
24 |
Rio Grande (Ohio) |
385 |
| 13 |
13 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
337 |
| 14 |
6 |
Marian (Ind.) |
324 |
| 15 |
21 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
304 |
| 16 |
14 |
Oklahoma City |
300 |
| 17 |
17 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
284 |
| 18 |
10 |
Southern Oregon |
248 |
| 19 |
11 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
221 |
| 20 |
RV |
IU East (Ind.) |
198 |
| 21 |
19 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
192 |
| 22 |
20 |
Eastern Oregon |
188 |
| 23 |
18 |
Kansas Wesleyan |
185 |
| 24 |
RV |
John Brown (Ark.) |
169 |
| 25 |
RV |
Mount Mercy (Iowa) |
132 |
Dropped from Top 25: Aquinas (Mich.), Montreat (N.C.), SCAD (Ga.)
Receiving Votes: Montreat (N.C.) 117, Doane (Neb.) 79, Governors State (Ill.) 45, Saint Mary (Neb.) 37, Saint Francis (Ind.) 31, Spring Arbor (Mich.) 23, Aquinas (Mich.) 9, Montana Tech 8, Morningside (Iowa) 8, Concordia (Neb.) 7, SCAD (Ga.) 5, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 4, Arizona Christian 4, Trinity Western (B.C.) 2
