2023 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The biggest non-championship weekend of the year provided plenty of shakeup in the NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll as the Week 4 edition was released on Thursday by the NAIA National Office.
All but three of the top-25 found new positions from the previous poll after a slew of challenges and classics brought together squads from just about everywhere.
NAIA — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
College of Idaho
College of Idaho
2
Milligan (Tenn.)
Milligan (Tenn.)
3
Saint Mary (Kan.)
Saint Mary (Kan.)
4
Taylor (Ind.)
Taylor (Ind.)
5
The Master's (Calif.)
The Master's (Calif.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Change was very evident at the top as College of Idaho earned 14 of the possible 21 votes in jumping up from No. 3 to No. 1 after an impressive victory at the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic. The Yotes had four top-10 finishers – led by individual winner and current M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week Ellyse Tingelstad – to reach their first No. 1 ranking since the 2020 preseason poll.
Milligan (Tenn.) remained No. 2 for the fifth-straight poll as the Buffaloes took care of business in winning the NAIA Appalachian Challenge with Caitlin Dominy leading a Milligan 1-2-3. The Trojans garnered garnered six first-place votes, their highest total of the year.
Moving up a notch to No. 3 is Saint Mary (Kan.), runner-up at the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic as Reagan Hiebert was second overall with two more teammates in the top-10. This is the highest ranking for Saint Mary since being No. 3 in last year’s final poll.
Defending champion Taylor (Ind.) dropped from No. 1 to No. 4 and collected one first-place vote. The Trojans were third at the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic without the services of top runner Audrey Brinkoff, who was fourth individually in leading Taylor to an impressive third-place finish in the Blue Division at the Live in Lou Classic in September.
No. 5 for a fourth-straight poll is The Master’s (Calif.). The Mustangs didn’t compete this past weekend and were seventh in their last competition at the NCAA DI-loaded UC Riverside Highlander Invitational. Hannah Fredericks – a two-time M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week this year – leads the Mustangs.
Completing the top-10 are No. 6 Concordia (Neb.), No. 7 Southern Oregon, No. 8 Dordt (Iowa), No. 9 St. Francis (Ill.) and No. 10 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.).
The schedule moves into yet a new gear – conferences championships are dominant on Nov. 3-4 before the 2023 NAIA Cross Country Championships, which are scheduled for Friday, November 17, at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Washington.
