2025 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Taylor (Ind.) continues as a new program joined the top-5 teams in the Week 2 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
Taylor (Ind.)
Milligan (Tenn.)
Cumberlands (Ky.)
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
Indiana Wesleyan
1
Taylor (Ind.)
2
Milligan (Tenn.)
3
Cumberlands (Ky.)
4
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
5
Indiana Wesleyan
Cross Country Polls & Rankings

No. 1 Taylor (Ind.)

Led by two-time NAIA Runner of the Week and defending NAIA national champion Jaynie Halterman, the Trojans have remained No. 1 since the preseason rating, winning the IWU Twilight and finishing seventh at Florida State. Up next, Taylor hosts the Ray Bullock Invitational, in Upland, on Oct. 10.

No. 2 Milligan (Tenn.)

The Buffs stayed at No. 2 after hosting and winning the Eli Cramer Invitationalon Friday (Sept. 26), and this Friday, Oct. 3, Milligan travels to the Firetower Project, hosted by Appalachian State.

No. 3 Cumberlands (Ky.)

The Patriots haven’t competed since last week’s rating, resuming the season Saturday by taking part in the Greater Louisville Classic, hosted by the University of Louisville.

No. 4 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)

Embry-Riddle made the largest jump within the top 10, from No. 7 to No. 4, due primarily to a win on Sept. 20 over The Master’s (Calif.). Saturday, ERAU takes part in the ACU Firestorm Invitational in Glendale, Ariz.

No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan

IWU held ground at No. 5 after a strong showing in Columbia, Mo., taking fourth in the Open section of the Gans Creek Classic, hosted by the University of Missouri. Off this week, the Wildcats are back to primarily NAIA competition on Oct. 10, traveling to Taylor’s Ray Bullock Invitational.

Completing the top-10 are No. 6 The Master’s (Calif.), No. 7 Cornerstone (Mich.), No. 8 College of Idaho, No. 9 Dordt (Iowa) and No. 10 Marian (Ind.).

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.

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USTFCCCA NAIA
Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll

2025 Week 2 - October 2nd

RANK TEAM & INFOPTSCHANGE
1 taylor-ind TAYLOR (IND.)
Crossroads
Quinn White (16th)
435
(15 fpv)
◀▶
(LW: 1)
2 milligan-tenn MILLIGAN (TENN.)
AAC
Chris Layne (27th)
411 ◀▶
(LW: 2)
3 cumberlands-ky CUMBERLANDS (KY.)
Mid-South
Bradley Sowder (4th)
387 ◀▶
(LW: 3)
4 embry-riddle-ariz EMBRY-RIDDLE (ARIZ.)
GSAC
Chris Bray (13th)
379 ▲ 3
(LW: 7)
5 indiana-wesleyan INDIANA WESLEYAN
Crossroads
Brody Beiler (2nd)
376 ◀▶
(LW: 5)
6 the-masters-calif THE MASTER'S (CALIF.)
GSAC
Daniel Rush (2nd)
368 ▼ 2
(LW: 4)
7 cornerstone-mich CORNERSTONE (MICH.)
WHAC
Jason Schalk (3rd)
336 ▲ 6
(LW: 13)
8 college-of-idaho COLLEGE OF IDAHO
Cascade
Dominic Bolin (4th)
326 ▲ 1
(LW: 9)
9 dordt-iowa DORDT (IOWA)
GPAC
Nate Wolf (11th)
314 ▼ 1
(LW: 8)
10 marian-ind MARIAN (IND.)
Crossroads
Presley Martin (2nd)
311 ▼ 4
(LW: 6)
11 scad-savannah-ga SCAD SAVANNAH (GA.)
Sun Conference
306 ▼ 1
(LW: 10)
12 grace-ind GRACE (IND.)
Crossroads
Brian Dewey (2nd)
275 ▼ 1
(LW: 11)
13 montreat-n-c MONTREAT (N.C.)
AAC
Ryan Hincher (2nd)
267 ▼ 1
(LW: 12)
14 saint-mary-kan SAINT MARY (KAN.)
KCAC
Alstin Benton (13th)
248 ◀▶
(LW: 14)
15 aquinas-mich AQUINAS (MICH.)
WHAC
Mike Wojciakowski (28th)
234 ◀▶
(LW: 15)
16 eastern-oregon EASTERN OREGON
Cascade
Ben Welch (34th)
215 ◀▶
(LW: 16)
17 scad-atlanta-ga SCAD ATLANTA (GA.)
AAC
Chris Benassi (5th)
196 ◀▶
(LW: 17)
18 kansas-wesleyan KANSAS WESLEYAN
KCAC
Garrett Young (4th)
175 ◀▶
(LW: 18)
19 olivet-nazarene-ill OLIVET NAZARENE (ILL.)
Chicagoland
Kyle Rago (6th)
160 ▲ 1
(LW: 20)
20 southern-oregon SOUTHERN OREGON
Cascade
Grier Gatlin (22nd)
158 ▼ 1
(LW: 19)
21 benedictine-kan BENEDICTINE (KAN.)
The Heart
Jacob Connealy (2nd)
154 ▲ 2
(LW: 23)
22 montana-tech MONTANA TECH
Frontier
Jacob Sundberg (2nd)
133 ◀▶
(LW: 22)
23 lewis-clark-state-idaho LEWIS-CLARK STATE (IDAHO)
Cascade
Mike Collins (29th)
116 ▼ 2
(LW: 21)
24 oklahoma-city OKLAHOMA CITY
SAC
Andrew Leahey (1st)
109
(LW: RV)
25 rio-grande-ohio RIO GRANDE (OHIO)
River States
Matt Paxton (3rd)
88 ▼ 1
(LW: 24)

Also Receiving Votes: Dakota State (S.D.) 76, Morningside (Iowa) 72, Shawnee State (Ohio) 68, Mount Mercy (Iowa) 32, Carroll (Mont.) 24, Ave Maria (Fla.) 13, William Carey (Miss.) 10, College of Saint Mary (Neb.) 10, Concordia (Neb.) 3

Dropped Out: No. 25 Shawnee State (Ohio)



Week-by-Week Ranking

TeamPreseasonWeek #1Week #2Week #3
Taylor (Ind.)1111
Milligan (Tenn.)2222
Cumberlands (Ky.)4333
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)14744
Indiana Wesleyan11555
The Master's (Calif.)3466
Dordt (Iowa)9897
Cornerstone (Mich.)151378
College of Idaho12989
Grace (Ind.)7111210
Marian (Ind.)661011
Aquinas (Mich.)17151512
Saint Mary (Kan.)5141413
SCAD Savannah (Ga.)8101114
Kansas Wesleyan13181815
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)21201916
Montana Tech23222217
Eastern Oregon20161618
Benedictine (Kan.)RV232119
Carroll (Mont.)24RVRV20
Montreat (N.C.)10121321
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)16212322
Southern Oregon19192023
Oklahoma City25RV2424
Rio Grande (Ohio)RV242525
SCAD Atlanta (Ga.)181717RV
Shawnee State (Ohio)RV25RVRV
Dakota State (S.D.)RVRVRVRV
College of Saint Mary (Neb.)RVRVRVRV
Mount Mercy (Iowa)RVRVRV
Morningside (Iowa)RVRVRV
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio)RVRVRV
IU East (Ind.)RVRV
Doane (Neb.)RVRV
St. Ambrose (Iowa)RV
Oregon TechRV
Missouri BaptistRV
Governors State (Ill.)RV
William Carey (Miss.)RVRVRV
Concordia (Neb.)RVRV
Ave Maria (Fla.)RV
Saint Francis (Ind.)RVRV
John Brown (Ark.)RVRV
Southeastern (Fla.)RV
Nelson (Texas)RV
St. Francis (Ill.)22
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)RV
Indiana TechRV
Mount Marty (S.D.)RV
Huntington (Ind.)RV

USTFCCCA NAIA Cross Country

2025 Rankings & Polls Calendar
Weeks Conference PollsNational Coaches' Poll KEY DATES
PreseasonThu 8/21
MEN | WOMEN
Week 1Thu 9/25
MEN | WOMEN
Week 2Thu 10/2
MEN | WOMEN
Week 3Thu 10/16
MEN | WOMEN
Week 4Thu 10/30
Week 5Thu 11/13
FINAL Results
(official final ranking)
Mon 11/24