2022 NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There is a familiar No. 1 at the top of the newest NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll that was released on Thursday by the NAIA National Office.

NAIA — Men's Cross Country

This Week's National Top Five

1
Milligan (Tenn.)

2
Indiana Wesleyan

3
Dordt (Iowa)

4
The Master's (Calif.)

5
Eastern Oregon

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Milligan leapfrogged Indiana Wesleyan into the top spot since the last poll was released in mid-September. The Buffs, who have 11 first-place votes compared to nine for the Wildcats, posted back-to-back wins at the Eli Cramer Invitational and then the bigger Queens City Invitational. Milligan romped to victory in the latter, sending five athletes across the in scored top-10 (Aaron Jones captured the individual title in 24:24.0).

IWU last competed at the Roy Griak Invitational, where it finished fourth in the Men’s Maroon 8k. The Wildcats were the top NAIA program in the field and bested former No. 4 Dordt (Iowa). Eli Fullerton and Landon Wakeman both finished among the top-15 athletes for IWU in Minnesota.

Don’t worry about the aforementioned Defenders, as they improved one spot from No. 4 to No. 3. Dordt (Iowa), which finished fourth at the Roy Griak Invitational, sits right in front of The Master’s (Calif.), which earned the lone remaining first-place vote from the coaches. Eastern Oregon cracked the top-5 for the first time this season to cap that group.

Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 2: No. 6 Saint Mary (Kan.), No. 7 Oklahoma City, No. 8 Grace (Ind.), No. 9 College of Idaho and No. 10 Montreat (N.C.).

Mark your calendars for Friday, November 18, because that’s when the 2022 NAIA Cross Country Championships will be held at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.