St. Francis (Ill.) Remains No. 1 In First Regular Season NAIA Men’s XC Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo – St. Francis (Ill.) claims the No. 1 spot in the 2016 NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll for the second edition in a row, the NAIA national office announced Wednesday.
The next Top 25 poll will be released on Sept. 28.
Top 25 highlights (historical information dates back to 1999):
- St. Francis (Ill.) earns back-to-back No. 1 rankings in the Top 25. The Fighting Saints earned 527 total points and 16 first place votes.
- The last time St. Francis earned back-to-back No. 1 ranking sin the coaches’ poll was on Oct. 23 and Oct. 30, 2013.
- The three-time defending national champion Oklahoma City comes in at the No. 2 spot for the second week in a row, receiving a total of 502 points. The Stars have been in the top 5 in nine of the last 10 polls.
- Rounding out the top 5 is Southern Oregon at No. 3 with 496 points and three first place votes, British Columbia at No. 4 with 489 points and Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) at No. 5 with 450 points.
- The biggest move in the Top 25 is Biola (Calif.), jumping from No. 22 in the preseason poll to No. 15 and Carroll (Mont.) falling from N0. 16 to No. 15.
- No. 13 Aquinas (Mich.) extends its streak of being in the Top 25 poll to a NAIA-best 157-consecutive mentions, dating back to Aug. 22, 2000.
- Only two programs have gone the entire season ranked No. 1 – Oklahoma City (2014) and former NAIA member Lindenwood (Mo.) (2007).
- There are four new teams in the Top 25 – No. 20 Rocky Mountain (Mont.), No. 20 Bethel (Ind.), No. 23 Westmont (Calif.) and No. 24 Corban (Ore.).
- This is Corban’s first time in shcool history in the men’s cross country Top 25.
NAIA MEN’S COACHES POLL (TOP 25) |
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| RANK | LAST | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | St. Francis (Ill.) (16) | 527 |
| 2 | 2 | Oklahoma City | 502 |
| 3 | 4 | Southern Oregon (3) | 496 |
| 4 | 3 | British Columbia | 489 |
| 5 | 6 | Lewis Clark State (Idaho) | 450 |
| 6 | 7 | The Master’s (Calif.) | 446 |
| 7 | 8 | Marian (Ind.) | 425 |
| 8 | 9 | SCAD Savannah (Ga.) | 403 |
| 9 | 5 | Saint Mary (Kan.) | 388 |
| 10 | 11 | College of Idaho | 366 |
| 10 | 10 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 366 |
| 12 | 13 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 322 |
| 13 | 14 | Taylor (Ind.) | 318 |
| 14 | 12 | Bacone (Okla.) | 317 |
| 15 | 22 | Biola (Calif.) | 261 |
| 16 | 18 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 259 |
| 17 | 19 | Indiana Tech | 255 |
| 18 | 15 | Dalton State (Ga.) | 235 |
| 19 | 20 | Shawnee State (Ohio) | 214 |
| 20 | RV | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 204 |
| 20 | RV | Bethel (Ind.) | 177 |
| 22 | 24 | Morningside (Iowa) | 157 |
| 23 | RV | Westmont (Calif.) | 155 |
| 24 | NR | Corban (Ore.) | 145 |
| 25 | 16 | Carroll (Mont.) | 120 |
Others receiving votes: Columbia (Mo.) 115; Indiana Wesleyan 79; Northwest Christian (Ore.) 77; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 52; Milligan (Tenn.) 47; Cornerstone (Mich.) 31; Oregon Tech 22; Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 18; Cumberlands (Ky.) 12; Dordt (Iowa) 9; Rio Grande (Ohio) 7; Mount Mercy (Iowa) 3.
Dropped out of the Top 25: Columbia (Mo.), Wayland Baptist (Texas), Northwestern Christian (Ore.).
