2023 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A dominant No. 1 leads the Week 1 edition of the NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released on Thursday by the NAIA National Office.
NAIA — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Taylor (Ind.)
Taylor (Ind.)
2
Milligan (Tenn.)
Milligan (Tenn.)
3
College of Idaho
College of Idaho
4
St. Francis (Ill.)
St. Francis (Ill.)
5
The Master's (Calif.)
The Master's (Calif.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Defending champion Taylor (Ind.) remains a unanimous selection at No. 1, having won both of its contests this year in convincing fashion. The Trojans captured the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcat Twilight Invitational with 20 points and then Taylor’s own Ray Bullock Invitational Friday with 19 points.
No. 2 Milligan (Tenn.) – runner-up last year after winning in 2021 – has opened with a pair of third-place finishes as the top NAIA team at both the Fire Tower Project and Virginia Tech Invitational.
College of Idaho repeats its preseason No. 3. The Yotes won the Dr. Thad Scholes Invitational with 18 points then followed most recently by winning the Cascade Conference Preview with 24 points.
Moving up to No. 4 is St. Francis (Ill.). The Fighting Saints were runner-up at their own Twilight Invitational and last weekend’s Ray Bullock Invitational.
The Master’s (Calif.) dropped a notch to No. 5. The Mustangs were runner-up as the top NAIA team a week ago at the Biola Invitational, sweeping the top two places.
Rounding out the top-10 are No. 6 Saint Mary (Kan.), No. 7 Dordt (Iowa), No. 8 Southern Oregon, No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan and No. 10 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.).
The 2023 NAIA Cross Country Championships are scheduled to be held Friday, November 17, at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Washington.
