2023 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Conference championships are in the book, and that means only one race remains – the 2023 NAIA Cross Country Championships next Friday at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.
Here is the latest NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll as released on Tuesday by the NAIA National Office.
NAIA — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
College of Idaho
College of Idaho
2
Milligan (Tenn.)
Milligan (Tenn.)
3
Saint Mary (Kan.)
Saint Mary (Kan.)
4
Taylor (Ind.)
Taylor (Ind.)
5
The Master's (Calif.)
The Master's (Calif.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
No. 1 College of Idaho garnered 16 of the possible 20 first-place votes after dominating the strong CCC Championships with 18 points. The Yotes have been top-5 at the NAIA Championships in each of the last four years – including runner-up finishes in 2019 and 2020 – and will be seeking a first-ever national crown. M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week Ellyse Tingelstad led teammates Sage Martin and Abbey Shirts to a second-straight Yote 1-2-3 at the CCC.
Milligan (Tenn.) collected the other four first-place votes to continue its season-long perch at No. 2. The Buffaloes won the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships with 17 points as Ellen-Mary Kearney started the 1-2-3-4 Milligan flood at the finish. Milligan was runner-up last year after winning the 2021 title.
No. 3 Saint Mary (Kan.) was just one point away from a perfect score in winning the KCAC Championships, led by twin sisters Reagan and Riley Hiebert. The Spires are looking to improve on their best-ever finish in this meet, which is seventh in each of the last two years.
Defending champion Taylor (Ind.) won the deep Crossroads League Championships with 33 points. Mollie Gamble was individual runner-up ahead of three returning scorers from last year’s title team – Noel VanderWall, Audrey Brinkruff and Ahna Neideck (nee VanderWall).
The Master’s (Calif.) is No. 5 for a fifth-straight poll. The Mustangs galloped to the GSAC Championships title with 17 points as Hannah Fredericks led a 1-2-3 sweep. The Master’s has been sixth the last two years in registering its highest-ever finish in the NAIA Championships.
Completing the top-10 are GPAC champion Dordt (Iowa) at No. 6, CCC runner-up Southern Oregon at No. 7, GPAC runner-up Concordia (Neb.) at No. 8, AAC runner-up Montreat (N.C.) at No. 9 and CCAC champion St. Francis (Ill.) at No. 10.
