Azusa Pacific Moves to No. 1 in Women's NAIA XC Top 25
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - With 20 first-place votes, Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) becomes the third No. 1 team in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Women’s Cross Country poll, the NAIA announced Wednesday. The defending national champion was awarded 680 points and moved up four spots from last week. Dropping down to No. 2 is California State University-San Marcos, followed by Simon Fraser University (B.C.) at No. 3. Biola University (Calif.) and Cedarville University (Ohio), who were tied for second last week, are now tied for fourth.
Three teams are new to this week’s poll in No. 15 Cornerstone (Mich.), No. 21 Vanguard (Calif.) and No. 23 Eastern Oregon. Cornerstone and Vanguard were both receiving votes last week, while Eastern Oregon was unranked. The Golden State Athletic Conference still leads the way in representation with five teams earning national recognition in Azusa Pacific, Biola, No. 7 Concordia (Calif.), No. 14 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) and Vanguard.
California State University-San Marcos drops back a spot to No. 2 with four first-place votes and 663 points. The Cougars of both Azusa Pacific and California State University-San Marcos hold tightly to the top-two spots as Simon Fraser sits at No. 3 with 619 points. The Clan, who were the preseason No. 1 squad, moves up a spot after falling to No. 4 in the first regular-season poll.
With only one point separating No. 3 from 4, Biola and Cedarville captured 618 points this week. The pair was tied at 613 points a week ago and currently have a 52-point advantage on the College of Idaho, the sixth-ranked team.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences. The next poll will be released on Sept. 30.