KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Lewis-Clark State leads six Cascade Collegiate Conference teams receiving votes in the preseason edition of the NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, released Thursday by the national office.
The Warriors picked up one first-place vote and enter the 2021 season ranked No. 6, returning all their runners who competed at the 2020 NAIA National Championship. LC State was picked to defend its first-ever CCC championship earlier this season.
Oregon Tech follows at No. 11, while Southern Oregon University -- which opted out of the 2020 season -- jumps right back into the mix at No. 15. The College of Idaho is right on the Raiders’ tails at No. 16, while Northwest University sits at No. 19 on the list. Eastern Oregon University is receiving votes in the preseason poll.
2021 NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Preseason
| RANK |
LAST TIME |
SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] |
POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Taylor (Ind.) [18] |
559 |
| 2 |
2 |
Huntington (Ind.) |
534 |
| 3 |
3 |
Milligan (Tenn.) |
525 |
| 4 |
5 |
Saint Mary (Kan.) [1] |
504 |
| 5 |
6 |
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
478 |
| 6 |
8 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) [1] |
471 |
| 7 |
7 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
432 |
| 8 |
9 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
430 |
| 9 |
10 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
412 |
| 10 |
4 |
Oklahoma City |
405 |
| 11 |
11 |
Oregon Tech |
394 |
| 12 |
12 |
Shawnee State (Ohio) |
366 |
| 13 |
13 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
341 |
| 14 |
14 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
327 |
| 15 |
NR |
Southern Oregon |
312 |
| 16 |
15 |
College of Idaho |
276 |
| 17 |
16 |
Montreat (N.C.) |
269 |
| 18 |
19 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
262 |
| 19 |
17 |
Northwest (Wash.) |
209 |
| 20 |
22 |
Goshen (Ind.) |
201 |
| 21 |
20 |
Doane (Neb.) |
182 |
| 22 |
24 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
176 |
| 23 |
23 |
Aquinas (Mich.) |
164 |
| 24 |
NR |
Columbia (Mo.) |
140 |
| 25 |
NR |
Grand View (Iowa) |
106 |
Receiving Votes: Grace (find.) 87, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 73,
Eastern Oregon 44, Wayland Baptist (Texas) 44, Williams Carey (Miss.) 43, Northwestern (Iowa) 43, Campbellsville (Ky.) 37, Baker (Kan.) 28, Westmont (Calif.) 28, Spring Arbor (Mich.) 17, Loyola (La.) 13, Friends (Kan.) 11
Poll Methodology
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences.
• Each conference is represented by one rater.
• 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 rating) 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 appear on.
• Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes.”