Southern Oregon senior David Laney is the No. 1 runner on the nation's No. 1-ranked team. Laney will try to lead the Raiders to a national title when the 2009 NAIA Cross Country National Championships are held at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site Saturday, Nov. 21. Four CCC men's teams and three CCC women's teams are listed in the NAIA's final Top 25 polls of the season.
SOU (No. 1), CI (No. 6) Retain Top 25 Positions
Photos of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Cross Country Championships from Saturday, Nov. 7 in Springfield, Ore., are now on-line and ready for viewing or order placement. The link is www.digidesignphoto.com. Just click on “Find Your Event”, then click Sports, then Cross Country, and navigate to the event.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Southern Oregon University is the No. 1 team in the final NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll of the 2009 season, the NAIA announced Sunday. The Raiders, who captured the Cascade Collegiate Conference championship on Saturday, were awarded 11 first-place votes for 612 points. Malone University (Ohio) also captured 11 first-place votes and is one point back to close out the season ranked second. Concordia University (Neb.) moves up one spot to third, followed by California State University-San Marcos at No. 4 and No. 5 Shawnee State University (Ohio.).
In the final NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll, College of Idaho remained in the No. 6 position, while two CCC teams moved into the Top 25 -- Concordia at No. 22 and Southern Oregon at No. 25. Eastern Oregon received votes but fell out of the Top 25.
In the men's poll, twenty teams that were previously ranked among the Top 25 in the Nov. 4 poll changed rank following postseason national qualifying meets over the weekend. Top-ranked Southern Oregon, No. 2 Malone and No. 9 Bryan (Tenn.) were the only squads to maintain their rank.
A pair of teams, No. 12 Cornerstone (Mich.) and No. 23 Southwestern (Kan.) move into the Top 25 after their performances at their respective meets. Cornerstone makes the jump from previously receiving votes to No. 12 after winning the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference meet on Saturday. The Golden Eagles tallied 42 points to runner-up Aquinas' 44. Previously ranked third, Aquinas plummets 12 spots to No. 15 in the final poll. Southwestern was also receiving votes in the Nov. 4 poll, but cracks into the Top 25 after taking the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference crown with 30 points.
Sooner Athletic Conference champion Oklahoma Christian improves 12 spots on the poll, moving from No. 23 to 11. Also on the up is Simon Fraser (B.C.), the Association of Independent Institutions runner-up, as The Clan jumps five spots to No. 7 after entering Saturday's race ranked 12th. British Columbia's third-place finish at the AII meet pushed the Thunderbirds back five positions to 10th. Black Hills State's runner-up performance at the Dakota Athletic Conference dropped the then-No. 14 Yellow Jackets to No. 25 in the final poll.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference leads all conferences with four ranked men's teams: Southern Oregon, No. 8 College of Idaho, No. 18 Eastern Oregon and No. 24 Concordia (Ore.). The American Mideast Conference and Association of Independent Institutions each boast a trio of nationally ranked squads. Malone leads the way in the AMC, followed by Shawnee State and No. 20 Cedarville (Ohio). Representing the AII is California State-San Marcos, Simon Fraser and British Columbia.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences. To view all of the weekend's results from postseason national qualifying meets, please click here. National Championship teams and individual qualifiers will be announced on Monday by 5 p.m. CST. The 53rd Annual NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships will take place at Fort Vancouver Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash., on Nov. 21.
In the women's poll, Golden State Athletic Conference champion Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) is the No. 1 team in the final edition of the NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll for 2009, the NAIA announced. The Cougars were awarded 23-of-24 possible first-place votes for 684 points. The rest of the top-five teams remained the same as the Nov. 4 poll, with No. 2 California State University-San Marcos, No. 3 Simon Fraser University, No. 4 Biola University (Calif.) and No. 5 Malone University (Ohio).
For the first time in five polls, Azusa Pacific was not voted the unanimous No. 1, as California State-San Marcos was awarded one first-place vote after capturing the Association of Independent Institutions title on Saturday with 36 points.
Twelve previously ranked Top 25 teams adjusted rank and a pair of teams moved into the poll following a weekend of postseason national qualifying meets. Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) benefited from a third-place showing at the GSAC meet, behind Azusa Pacific and Biola, by moving up eight spots in the poll from No. 17 to 9. With second and third-place finishes, respectively, at the Cascade Collegiate Conference meet, Concordia (Ore.) and Southern Oregon appear on the final poll. The Cavaliers are ranked 22nd and the Raiders are No. 25.
Kansas Wesleyan captured the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference title and was rewarded by bumping up five positions in the poll to No. 20. Despite winning the Frontier Conference, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) fell from No. 11 to 16. Also falling five spots are Mid-Central College Conference runner-up Indiana Wesleyan to No. 19 and Concordia (Calif.), who placed fourth in the GSAC, to No. 13.
The Golden State Athletic Conference continues to boast five nationally-ranked teams in Azusa Pacific, Biola, Point Loma Nazarene, Concordia and No. 23 Vanguard (Calif.). The Association of Independent Institutions and CCC each have three ranked teams Representing the AII is California State-San Marcos, Simon Fraser and No. 11 British Columbia. Sixth-ranked College of Idaho, Concordia and Southern Oregon represent the Cascade Collegiate Conference.