NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Week 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo – Southern Oregon sits atop the first regular-season NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. The second poll will be released on Sept. 23.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1999):
- Southern Oregon is No. 1 after receiving 12 first-place votes and 493 total points. This marks the second-straight poll that the Raiders find themselves in the No. 1 spot.
- Southern Oregon has the second-most No. 1 rankings with 32, trailing former NAIA member Malone (Ohio), which had 38.
- Oklahoma City claims the second spot, receiving six first-place votes and a total of 465 points. This is the biggest move in the top 25 poll, as the Stars were not ranked in the NAIA Preseason Top 25.
- No. 13 Aquinas (Mich.) finds themselves in the top 25 for a NAIA-record 147-consectutive polls, dating back to Aug. 22, 2000.
- Only two programs have gone the entire season ranked No. 1 – Oklahoma City (2014) and former NAIA member Malone (2007 & 2008).
- There are six new teams in the top 25 – No. 2 Oklahoma City, No. 12 British Columbia, No. 16 Shawnee State (Ohio), No. 19 Bethel (Ind.), No. 21 Northwest Christian (Ore.) and No. 25 Biola (Calif.)
- Thirteen of the 21 NAIA Men’s cross country conferences are represented in the poll. The Cascade Collegiate Conference (Southern Oregon, No. 10 College of Idaho, No. 15 Oregon Tech, Northwest Christian (Ore.)) and the Crossroads League (No. 4 Indian Wesleyan, No. 11 Taylor (Ind.), No. 19 Bethel (Ind.) and No. 24 Marian (Ind.)) leads all conferences with four ranked teams.
Poll Methodology:
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low ratings) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appears on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
- For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
2015 NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 1 (Sept. 16)
| RANK | LAST | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Southern Oregon (12) | 493 |
| 2 | NR | Oklahoma City (6) | 465 |
| 3 | 5 | Carroll (Mont.) | 448 |
| 4 | 6 | Indiana Wesleyan | 446 |
| 5 | 2 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 444 |
| 6 | 3 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 420 |
| 7 | 7 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 412 |
| 8 | 8 | Morningside (Iowa) | 381 |
| 9 | 10 | Indiana Tech | 362 |
| 10 | 13 | College of Idaho | 332 |
| 11 | 9 | Taylor (Ind.) | 325 |
| 12 | NR | British Columbia | 312 |
| 13 | 4 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 287 |
| 14 | 12 | The Master’s (Calif.) | 272 |
| 15 | 15 | Oregon Tech | 254 |
| 16 | NR | Shawnee State (Ohio) | 247 |
| 17 | 11 | Saint Mary (Kan.) | 240 |
| 18 | 16 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 239 |
| 19 | RV | Bethel (Ind.) | 231 |
| 20 | 18 | Columbia (Mo.) | 197 |
| 21 | RV | Northwest Christian (Ore.) | 176 |
| 22 | 17 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 138 |
| 23 | 20 | Milligan (Tenn.) | 134 |
| 24 | 19 | Marian (Ind.) | 133 |
| 25 | NR | Biola (Calif.) | 117 |
Dropped from the Top 25: SCAD Savannah (Ga.) (No. 24), Goshen (Ind.) (No. 22), Tennessee Wesleyan (No. 21), Vanguard (Calif.) (No. 23), Dordt (Iowa) (No. 25)
Others receiving votes: Cornerstone (Mich.) 103; Dalton State (Ga.) 72; SCAD Savannah (Ga.) 71; Midland (Neb.) 39; Dickinson State (N.D.) 36; Goshen (Ind.) 32; Eastern Oregon 24; Westmont (Calif.) 18; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 13; Tennessee Wesleyan 13; Vanguard (Calif.) 3
^Based off 2015 Preseason Coaches’ Poll (Aug. 26, 2015
