2016 NAIA Women's Cross Country Top 25 Coaches' Poll - No. 5
NCU No. 1, CI No. 7, OIT No. 10, SOU No. 12
By Spencer Scheve, Communications & Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Beacons of Northwest Christian (Ore.) have garnered 18 of the 19 first-place votes to maintain their position in the No. 1 spot during the final regular-season edition of the 2016 NAIA Women’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Sunday. The NAIA National Championship qualifiers will be announced Monday, Nov. 7 by 5 p.m. CDT.
Top 25 highlights (historical information dates back to 1999):
• For the 12th straight poll, Northwest Christian (Ore.) earns the No. 1 ranking in the Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Beacons earned 18 first-place votes and 529 points.
• Northwest Christian continues its dominance, having been ranked now 32-straight polls in the top 10, with the last time it fell out being Sept. 18, 2013 (No. 11).
• The biggest movement in this edition is Carroll (Mont.) climbing 11 spots from No. 25 to No. 14.
• The three newcomers to the rankings are No. 23 SCAD Savannah (Ga.), No. 24 Hastings (Neb.) and No. 25 Siena Heights (Mich.). SCAD Savannah was last ranked on Sept. 28, Hastings on Oct. 12 and Siena Heights on Oct. 21, 2015.
• The three programs to drop out of the Top 25 are then-No. 21 Indiana Tech, then-No. 22 Benedictine (Kan.) and then-No. 24 Southeastern (Fla.).
• Twelve of the 21 conference/Association of Independent Institutions are represented, with no new conferences showing representation in this week’s poll.
• The Cascade Collegiate Conference once again brings four programs to the poll, led by No. 1 Northwest Christian. The Golden State Athletic Conference and Great Plains Athletic Conference are represented by three teams.
• Former NAIA-member Simon Fraser (B.C.) has the most all-time No. 1 rankings with 40. Northwest (Wash.) leads all active NAIA schools with 18 No. 1 mentions.
• Only three teams have previously gone the entire season ranked No. 1 – British Columbia (2013), Simon Fraser (2005, 2006 and 2007) and Northwest (2003).
• No. 13 Lewis-Clark State makes its 150th-consecutive appearance in the Top 25, the longest active streak in the NAIA dating back to Sept. 21, 2001.
• For the complete poll schedule, 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”
• The frequency of polls occur bi-weekly for the 2016 season.
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
2016 Women’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 5 (Nov. 6)
| RANK |
LAST |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
FINAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Northwest Christian (Ore.) (18) |
529 |
| 2 |
2 |
Biola (Calif.) |
512 |
| 3 |
3 |
British Columbia |
494 |
| 4 |
5 |
Oklahoma City |
472 |
| 5 |
4 |
Aquinas (Mich.) |
457 |
| 6 |
6 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
450 |
| 7 |
7 |
College of Idaho |
419 |
| 8 |
9 |
SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) |
406 |
| 9 |
8 |
Milligan (Tenn.) |
386 |
| 10 |
11 |
Oregon Tech |
372 |
| 11 |
10 |
Shawnee State (Ohio) |
371 |
| 12 |
12 |
Southern Oregon |
321 |
| 13 |
14 |
Taylor (Ind.) |
309 |
| 14 |
25 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
297 |
| 15 |
15 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
295 |
| 16 |
16 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
265 |
| 17 |
20 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
246 |
| 18 |
17 |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
235 |
| 19 |
13 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
217 |
| 20 |
18 |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
209 |
| 21 |
19 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
207 |
| 22 |
23 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
166 |
| 23 |
NR |
SCAD Savannah (Ga.) |
142 |
| 24 |
NR |
Hastings (Neb.) |
129 |
| 25 |
NR |
Sienna Heights (Mich.) |
114 |
|
Dropped from the Top 25: No. 21 Indiana Tech; No. 22 Benedictine (Kan.); No. 24 Southeastern (Fla.)
Others receiving votes: MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 113; Benedictine (Kan.) 76; Southeastern (Fla.) 70; Madonna (Mich.) 65; Indiana Tech 37; Doane (Neb.) 18; Tennessee Wesleyan 16; Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 15; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 15; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 9; Mount Mercy (Iowa) 5; Arizona Christian 3; Blue Mountain (Miss.) 3