2024 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ever-so-slightly, Milligan (Tenn.) is No. 1 in 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
Milligan (Tenn.)
Milligan (Tenn.)
2
Saint Mary (Kan.)
Saint Mary (Kan.)
3
The Master's (Calif.)
The Master's (Calif.)
4
Taylor (Ind.)
Taylor (Ind.)
5
Cumberlands (Ky.)
Cumberlands (Ky.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Four teams received first-place votes, but the Buffaloes had the most with eight. Milligan – a top-5 program over the last three years at the NAIA National Championships – are led by Ellen-Mary Kearney, who led the Buffs to a perfect score of 15 points in winning the Brevard Classic last weekend.
Preseason No. 1 Saint Mary (Kan.) drops one spot to No. 2. The Spires earned four first-place votes and have been led by twin sisters Riley and Reagan Hiebert. Reagan won the late-August Saint Mary Sunset Showdown, while Riley was the top NAIA runner in the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational last weekend.
Remaining No. 3 is The Master’s (Calif.), which received three first-place votes. The Mustangs are led by Hannah Fredericks, who has been M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week the last two weeks after winning the Biola Invitational and last week’s Larry Young Invitational, with the latter being held on the same Gans Creek Course in Columbia, Missouri, where the NAIA nationals will be held.
Taylor (Ind.) collected four first-place votes (two more than in the preseason poll) and remains No. 4. The Trojans won their only meet thus far – the Indiana Wesleyan Twilight Invitational three weeks ago – with freshman Jaynie Halterman leading a 1-2-4 finish for Taylor.
No. 5 Cumberlands (Ky.) was the leading NAIA program at the Southern Showcase a week ago. The Patriots were led by Alina Boshchuck, who won the 10,000 meters in May at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Completing the top-10 are No. 6 defending champion College of Idaho, No. 7 Montreat (N.C.), No. 8 Dordt (Iowa), No. 9 Southern Oregon and No. 10 St. Francis (Ill.).
The 2024 NAIA Cross Country Championships are scheduled to be held Friday, November 22, at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri.
