KANSAS CITY, Mo. - For the fourth-consecutive week Southern Oregon has earned the top spot in the 2012 NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. The Raiders received 21-of-22 first-place votes and tallied 622 points in the third edition to retain the No. 1 spot.
Southern Oregon did not race last weekend but return to action Saturday at the Stanford (Calif.) Invitational in Stanford, Calif.
The rest of the top five remains the same as last week's edition. No. 2 Cal State San Marcos garnered 598 points. No. 3 St. Francis (Ill.) earned the last first-place vote notched 582 points. No. 4 Oklahoma Baptist collected 558 points and No. 5 British Columbia earned 542 points to round out the top five.
Joining the poll this week is No. 25 Baker (Kan.). The Wildcats, who were idle last weekend, return to action on Saturday when they run in the Rim Rock Farm Classic in Lawrence, Kan.
Three teams, No. 7 Southwestern (Kan.), No. 14 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and No. 19 Concordia (Neb.) were the only teams to climb in the poll this week.
Fourteen conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) with four teams. Representing the GSAC are No. 8 The Master's (Calif.), No. 17 Westmont (Calif.), No. 20 Arizona Christian and No. 25 Biola (Calif.).
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups. The fourth regular-season Top 25 poll will be announced on Oct. 3.
Notes: (All information dates back to 1999) Four teams have started the season ranked No. 1 and gone on to win the national championship: Former NAIA Member Malone (Ohio) - 2007, 08 and 09; Virginia Intermont - 2005 and 06; Former NAIA Member Minot State (N.D.) - 2002; Life (Ga.) - 1999 and 2000... There has only been one program that has been able to maintain the No. 1 ranking for an entire season with Malone accomplishing the feat in 2007 and 08... Southern Oregon has been ranked No. 1 15 times which
ties the Raiders for third with former NAIA member Virginia Intermont...Malone has been ranked No. 1 the most with 38 selections... Aquinas (Mich.) has been ranked in the Top 25 for 119-consecutive weeks, dating back to Aug. 22, 2000.
2012 NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches Top 25 Poll - No. 3
|
RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
FINAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Southern Oregon (21) |
622 |
|
2 |
2 |
Cal State San Marcos |
598 |
|
3 |
3 |
St. Francis (Ill.) (1) |
582 |
|
4 |
4 |
Oklahoma Baptist |
558 |
|
5 |
5 |
British Columbia |
542 |
|
6 |
6 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
524 |
|
7 |
8 |
Southwestern (Kan.) |
490 |
|
8 |
7 |
The Master’s (Calif.) |
488 |
|
9 |
9 |
Aquinas (Mich.) |
467 |
|
10 |
10 |
Shawnee State (Ohio) |
431 |
|
11 |
11 |
College of Idaho |
424 |
|
12 |
12 |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
383 |
|
13 |
13 |
Eastern Oregon |
381 |
|
14 |
15 |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
354 |
|
15 |
14 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
353 |
|
16 |
16 |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
325 |
|
17 |
17 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
290 |
|
18 |
18 |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
275 |
|
19 |
20 |
Concordia (Neb.) |
242 |
|
20 |
19 |
Arizona Christian |
223 |
|
21 |
21 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
217 |
|
22 |
22 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
212 |
|
23 |
23 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
199 |
|
24 |
24 |
Saint Mary (Kan.) |
164 |
|
T25 |
25 |
Biola (Calif.) |
104 |
|
T25 |
RV |
Baker (Kan.) |
104 |
Others receiving votes: Indiana Wesleyan 84; Concordia (Ore.) 54; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 51; Dickinson State (N.D.) 40; Emmanuel (Ga.) 35; Columbia (Mo.) 20; Carroll (Mont.) 18; Berea (Ky.) 10; Lee (Tenn.) 8; Siena Heights (Mich.) 8; Robert Morris (Ill.) 7; Goshen (Ind.) 6; Dordt (Iowa) 6; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 6; Vanguard (Calif.) 5.