2025 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Taylor (Ind.) continues at the top as seven of the top-10 teams found new positions 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
Taylor (Ind.)

2
Milligan (Tenn.)

3
Cumberlands (Ky.)

4
The Master's (Calif.)

5
Indiana Wesleyan

Cross Country Polls & Rankings

NATIONAL POLL

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No. 1 Taylor (Ind.)

The Trojans repeat at No. 1, led by Sept. 10 NAIA Runner of the Week Jaynie Halterman, last season’s individual national champion. Taylor opened with a win at the Indiana Wesleyan Twilight, returning to competition Friday night (Sept. 26), at the Florida State Cross Country Open in Tallahassee, Fla.

No. 2 Milligan (Tenn.)

Opened the year with back-to-back fourth-place finishes in healthy fields, taking fourth among 20 at the Queen City Invite in Charlotte, N.C., and fourth at the Brevard Cross Country Classic in Brevard, N.C. Next up, the Buffs are at home Friday night (Sept. 26), hosting the Eli Cramer Invitational in Bristol, Tenn. Montreat posted the season’s second NAIA Runner of the Week, Heather Murphy, who broke the school’s 5K record at the Queen City Invite.

No. 3 Cumberlands (Ky.)

The Patriots started 2025 strong, winning the Berea/Centre Jamboree on Aug. 29 by 21 points, and they backed it up with a strong showing at the Southern Showcase, hosted by Jacksonville State, led by Lea Kunstmann’s 18:29.56 5K in a mostly Division I field. Cumberlands returns to the course Oct. 4, taking part in the Greater Louisville Classic, hosted by the University of Louisville.

No. 4 The Master’s (Calif.)

The 2024 NAIA women’s cross country national champions have three competitions in the books already, in 2025, including a fifth-place finish at home. TMU also earned a sixth-place finish at Biola, where they were the only NAIA program in the field, all after beginning the season with a third-place finish at the Mark Calvert Classic, hosted by Cal State Fullerton, topping Chapman, UNLV, and Southern Nevada while finishing behind Cal State Fullerton and Loyola Marymount. The Mustangs are back in action Oct. 4, at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in Claremont, Calif.

No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan

The Wildcats are one meet into the 2025 season, hosting the Indiana Wesleyan Twilight Invitational, where they finished second behind No. 1 Taylor. IWU was led by Sydney Liddle, who finished second, and the Wildcats return to competition Friday night (Sept. 26), in Columbia, Mo., at the Gans Creek Classic, hosted by the University of Missouri, on the course where they finished 10th in last season’s NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championship.

Completing the top-10 are No. 6 Marian (Ind.), No. 7 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), No. 8 Dordt (Iowa), No. 9 College of Idaho and No. 10 SCAD Savannah (Ga.).

The 2025 NAIA Cross Country Championships are scheduled to be held Friday, November 21, at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida. This will be the second time in the past four years that the meet will be held in the Sunshine State.