Ratings Shuffle for NAIA Men's XC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The shuffling of seven top-10 teams created a ripple effect throughout the fourth edition of the NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25. Through it all, Malone (Ohio) stayed put at No. 1, the NAIA announced Wednesday. The Pioneers shared three first-place votes, gathering 20-of-23 possible nods. Southern Oregon University is ranked second, followed by No. 3 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.), No. 4 Concordia University (Neb.) and No. 5 University of British Columbia to round out the top five.
Wednesday’s poll saw a total of 22 squads change position from the Sept. 30 poll. Malone, British Columbia and No. 10 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) were the only teams to remain unchanged.
A trio of teams swap spots from ranked to unranked. After receiving votes last week, Eastern Oregon checks in at No. 21, followed in line by No. 22 Black Hills State (S.D.) and No. 23 Westmont (Calif.). These programs replace Azusa Pacific (Calif.), Dakota State (S.D.) and Southwestern (Kan.), who have all fallen out of the ranks and are now receiving votes.
Three conferences, American Mideast Conference, Cascade Collegiate Conference and the Association of Independent Institutions, each have three teams represented in this week’s national poll. Malone, No. 6 Shawnee State (Ohio) and No. 24 Cedarville (Ohio) represent the AMC, while the Cascade is visible in Southern Oregon, No. 15 College of Idaho and No. 21 Eastern Oregon. British Columbia, No. 9 California State-San Marcos and No. 13 Simon Fraser (B.C.) appear for the AII.
Ranked second and third, Southern Oregon and Embry-Riddle each jumped four spots this week, from No. 6 and 7, respectively. The Raiders tallied three first-place votes and 633 points to the Eagles 604. Concordia spent last week at No. 3, but drops a spot back to No. 4 with 565 points. British Columbia is hot on the heels of Concordia with 563 points in the No. 5 spot.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences. The next poll will be released on Oct. 14.