2015 NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Final (Nov. 8)
By Scott Barker, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oklahoma City is the new No. 1 in the NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Sunday. The NAIA Cross Country National Championship qualifiers will be announced on Monday, Nov. 9 at 5:00 p.m. CDT. The postseason Top 25 poll will be released on Nov. 26.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1999):
• After receiving 11 first-place votes and 432 points, No. 1 Oklahoma City sits atop the poll for the first time in school history.
• No. 2 Southern Oregon, who has been No. 1 the entire season, received four first-place votes and 423 points.
• The final first-place vote went to Lewis-Clark State (Idaho). The Warriors received a total of 409 points.
• Northwestern (Iowa) moved up five spots from No. 24 to No. 19 highlighting the positive movement within the Top 25.
• The biggest fall in this week’s installment was Morningside (Iowa) as the Mustangs dropped nine positions from No. 12 to No. 21.
• Two new teams join this week’s poll – No. 20 Bacone (Okla.) and No. 22 Biola (Calif.).
• Bacone has only been ranked once in school history and that came on Oct. 21, 2015.
• Biola was last ranked on Sept. 16, when it was No. 25.
• Westmont (Calif.) (No. 16) and Saint Xavier (Ill.) (No. 25) were the two teams that dropped out of the Top 25.
• Oklahoma City (2014) and former NAIA-member Malone (Ohio) (2007 & 2008) are the only teams to go the entire season ranked No. 1.
• Southern Oregon has been in the top 10 in 19-straight polls, dating back to the 2014 Preseason Top 25 Poll.
• No. 12 Aquinas (Mich.) extends its streak of being in the Top 25 poll to a NAIA-best 154-consecutive mentions, dating back to Aug. 22, 2000.
• Former-member Malone and Southern Oregon are tied for the most No. 1 rankings with 38.
• Six schools have been ranked in the top ten all season – Southern Oregon, Lewis-Clark State, No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 7 St. Francis (Ill.), No. 8 Carroll (Mont.) and No. 10 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.).
• Thirteen of the 21 conferences/Association of Independent Institutions are represented in the Top 25. The Crossroads League leads all leagues with four teams represented – Indiana Wesleyan, No. 13 Marian (Ind.), No. 16 Taylor (Ind.) and No. 25 Bethel (Ind.)
• The Sooner Athletic Conference and Cascade Collegiate Conference each have three teams represented each.
• Thirty-six teams have been ranked this season.
• Two teams have been ranked No. 1 – Southern Oregon and Oklahoma City.
• For the complete ratings calendar, click
here.
Poll Methodology:
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
• The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low ratings) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appears on.
• Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click
here.
2015 NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll - No. 6 (Oct. 21)
| RANK |
LAST |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
FINAL POINTS |
|
|
|
|
| 1 |
3 |
Oklahoma City (11) |
432 |
| 2 |
1 |
Southern Oregon (4) |
423 |
| 3 |
3 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (1) |
409 |
| 4 |
5 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
384 |
| 5 |
4 |
Saint Mary (Kan.) |
382 |
| 6 |
7 |
British Columbia |
368 |
| 7 |
8 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
345 |
| 8 |
6 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
336 |
| 9 |
9 |
College of Idaho |
326 |
| 10 |
10 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
318 |
| 11 |
11 |
Dalton State (Ga.) |
302 |
| 12 |
13 |
Aquinas (Mich.) |
283 |
| T13 |
15 |
Marian (Ind.) |
247 |
| T13 |
14 |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
247 |
| 15 |
19 |
The Master’s (Calif.) |
228 |
| 16 |
17 |
Taylor (Ind.) |
218 |
| 17 |
20 |
Indiana Tech |
206 |
| 18 |
18 |
Columbia (Mo.) |
187 |
| 19 |
24 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
185 |
| 20 |
RV |
Bacone (Okla.) |
169 |
| 21 |
12 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
159 |
| 22 |
RV |
Biola (Calif.) |
142 |
| 23 |
21 |
Northwest Christian (Ore.) |
137 |
| 24 |
23 |
SCAD Savannah (Ga.) |
103 |
| 25 |
22 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
98 |
|
|
|
|
Dropped from the Top 25: Westmont (Calif.) (No. 26) and Saint Xavier (Ill.) (No. 25)
Others receiving votes: Westmont (Calif.) 87; Cornerstone (Mich.) 72; Campbellsville (Ky.) 40; Concordia (Neb.) 26;
Eastern Oregon 23; Milligan (Tenn.) 22; Shawnee State (Ohio) 22; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 9; Texas Wesleyan 7; Dickinson State (N.D.) 6; Doane (Neb.) 3.