2017 NAIA Women’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 1

By Trevor Lininger, Athletic Communication and Sports Media Intern

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – British Columbia earns the top spot in the NAIA Women’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday.

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1999):

• Defending National Champion British Columbia have held the No. 1 ranking for the past three polls
• The Thunderbirds of British Columbia earned a total of 19 first place votes
• Trinity Christian (Ill.) and St. Francis (Ill.) broke into the top 25 for the first time in 2017
• Simon Fraser (B.C.) holds the current record for most No. 1 rankings with a total of 40
• College of Idaho holds the longest streak of consecutive active Top 25 rankings with 68 in-a-row. The Coyotes have been ranked in each of the polls since 2009. Following College of Idaho is Carroll (Mont.) at 60-straight rankings, Northwest Christian (Ore.) at 55 and The Master’s (Calif.) at 51

Poll Methodology

• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences.
• Each conference is given one rater for every four schools in the league.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 25 points for each first-place vote, 24 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.”

For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.

This coaches’ poll is conducted by the NAIA national office. These institutions are not necessarily members of the USTFCCCA.