2017 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – British Columbia reclaims a share of the No. 1 ranking, joining Wayland Baptist (Texas) at the top of the NAIA Women’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday.

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

• The Thunderbirds gathered 12 first place votes and 542 total points to receive the No. 1 ranking. This is British Columbia’s fourth No. 1 ranking in 2017.
• This is Wayland Baptist’s first No. 1 ranking in program history, as the Pioneers earned four first place votes and 542 total points.
• No. 20 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and No. 21 Saint Xavier (Ill.) rejoin the Top 25 for the first time since the 2017 Preseason Poll, and No. 22 Montana Western makes its first Top 25 appearance of the year.
• Simon Fraser (B.C.) still holds the record for the most No. 1 rankings with 41 all time
• College of Idaho holds the record for the longest consecutively-ranked active school, appearing in 71-straight polls, followed by Carroll (Mont.) with 62.

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.”