KANSAS CITY, Missouri — The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has released its 2017 Women’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches’ Poll, and The Master’s University’s Lady Mustangs begin the season at No. 9.

Notably, the team holds the fourth-longest streak in the country for consecutive appearances in the Top 25 poll.

This streak of 50 consecutive polls is a testament to the commitment of the quality athletes who have come through the program during the last half-decade as well as the consistency of leadership from the renowned coaching staff.

TMU will open its season on September 2 in Fullerton and compete in four more regular-season meets including playing host to the TMU Cross Country Invitational on September 30.

The GSAC Championships will be held on November 4 at Irvine Regional Park followed by the NAIA National Championships at Fort Vancouver Historic National Site in Vancouver, Washington on November 18.

Poll Methodology
The poll was voted on by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences.
Each conference is given one rater for every four schools in the league.

The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 25 points for each first-place vote, 24 for second place and so on through the list.

The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team’s ranking is recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.

Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes.”

See the entire Top 25 list here.