2020 NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1
There were some major changes to the top-5 of the newest NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released on Thursday morning by the NAIA National Office.
Taylor (Ind.) remains No. 1, but is followed by Saint Mary (Kan.) at No. 2, Huntington (Ind.) at No. 3, Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) at No. 4 and Cornerstone (Mich.) at No. 5.
NAIA — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Taylor (Ind.)
Taylor (Ind.)
2
Saint Mary (Kan.)
Saint Mary (Kan.)
3
Huntington (Ind.)
Huntington (Ind.)
4
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
5
Cornerstone (Mich.)
Cornerstone (Mich.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Just this past weekend, the top-ranked Trojans played rude hosts at the TUXC Farm, winning the Midwest XC Challenge in a rout. Taylor (Ind.) put four runners in the top-15 as it won by 21 points over the now fifth-ranked Golden Eagles, who soared 15 spots from the preseason.
The second-ranked Spires romped to victory at the Mid-States Classic this past weekend. Led by National Athlete of the Week and meet champion Luke Skinner, Saint Mary (Kan.) had its top-7 runners finish in the top-8. It would have been a perfect score for the Spires, if it weren’t for Alex Ultreras of Newman, who finished fourth individually.
The third-ranked Foresters jumped three spots between the preseason and Week 1. A lot has to do with the performance of Adrien Gentie so far this season. Gentie has posted back-to-back wins and established himself as a true low stick. Just this past weekend, Gentie won the individual title at the Midwest XC Challenge by nearly 18 seconds.
The fourth-ranked Eagles recently competed at the Hawks Invitational and cruised to a victory. ERAU took seven of the top-9 spots, paced by individual champion Grady Kerst in 25:19.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 1: No. 6 Dordt (Iowa), No. 7 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 8 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), No. 9 Milligan (Tenn.) and No. 10 Doane (Neb.).
