KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Cal State San Marcos remains No. 1 for the third-consecutive week after capturing 21-of-23 possible first-place votes and 652 points in the NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. Finishing sixth overall, Kelly Thompson led the Cougars to a first-place team finish in the Santa Clara (Calif.) Bronco Invitational on Oct. 13.
Remaining at No. 2 is British Columbia with 629 points. College of Idaho collected the last two first-place votes and tallied 607 points to move into third. Falling one spot to No. 4 is Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) with 594 points. Rounding out the top five is No. 5 Biola (Calif.) with 574 points.
Rejoining the Top 25 is Eastern Oregon after falling from the poll last week. The Mountaineers finished eighth in the Inland Empire Classic (Idaho), and were the second NAIA school, behind No. 13 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho.) in the team results.
Making the biggest jump in the poll, from No. 20 to No. 17, is St. Francis (Ill.). The Fighting Saints were idle last week and return to action on Oct. 20 at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge hosted by Aquinas (Mich.).
Falling from the Top 25 is Southern Oregon (No. 21).
Eleven conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by the Golden State Athletic Conference with four ranked teams. The Cascade Collegiate Conference, Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Frontier Conference, and Great Plains Athletic Conference follow with three ranked teams each.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups. The seventh regular-season Top 25 poll will be announced on Oct. 24.
Notes: (All information dates back to 1999) in 2011 Cal State San Marcos joined former member Simon Fraser (B.C.) as the only teams to start the season ranked No. 1 and go on to win the national championship ... Simon Fraser accomplished this in 2004, 05, 06 and 07 and Cal State San Marcos accomplished this in 2011 ... There have been four seasons in which a squad held the No. 1-ranking for an entire season: 2007 - Simon Fraser, 2006 - Simon Fraser, 2005 - Simon Fraser and 2003 - Northwest (Wash.) ... No. 13 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) is the only school that has made 100-or-more consecutive appearances in the Top 25 with 111, dating back to Sept. 21, 2001... Former NAIA Member Simon Fraser has the most No. 1 rankings with 40... No. 9 is the highest Cornerstone (Mich.) has been ranked... 18 teams have been ranked all season...Cal State San Marcos has either been ranked No. 1 or 2 in the polls since Sept. 22, 2010.
2012 NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll - No. 6
|
RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Cal State San Marcos (21) |
652 |
|
2 |
2 |
British Columbia |
629 |
|
3 |
3 |
College of Idaho (2) |
607 |
|
4 |
3 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
594 |
|
5 |
5 |
Biola (Calif.) |
574 |
|
6 |
6 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
546 |
|
7 |
7 |
Northwest Christian (Ore.) |
517 |
|
8 |
8 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
512 |
|
9 |
9 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
476 |
|
10 |
10 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
457 |
|
11 |
12 |
Oklahoma Baptist |
447 |
|
12 |
14 |
Aquinas (Mich.) |
415 |
|
13 |
11 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
412 |
|
14 |
13 |
The Master’s (Calif.) |
401 |
|
15 |
15 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
361 |
|
16 |
16 |
Concordia (Calif.) |
323 |
|
17 |
20 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
305 |
|
18 |
18 |
Doane (Neb.) |
282 |
|
19 |
18 |
Milligan (Tenn.) |
249 |
|
20 |
17 |
Illinois Tech |
234 |
|
21 |
RV |
Eastern Oregon |
225 |
|
22 |
22 |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
212 |
|
23 |
23 |
Concordia (Neb.) |
183 |
|
24 |
25 |
Huntington (Ind.) |
180 |
|
25 |
24 |
Taylor (Ind.) |
144 |
Others receiving votes: Northwest (Wash.) 132; Indiana Wesleyan 76; Oregon Tech 69; Shawnee State (Ohio) 63; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 52; Baker (Kan.) 33; Spring Arbor (Mich.) 18; Southern Oregon 18; Trinity Christian (Ill.) 10; Texas Wesleyan 10; Lee (Tenn.) 6; Xavier (La.) 3.