Mustangs Stay at No. 10

Southern Oregon continues to hold on to a slim lead on the No. 1 spot in the 2012 NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. The Raiders received 12-of-21 first-place votes and tallied 579 points, for its sixth-consecutive week at the top of the poll.

Southern Oregon was idle last week. They return to action on Oct. 13th when they participate in the Cascade Conference Preview, which is being held at Lents Park in Portland, Ore.

Nos. 2 – 5 remained the same as last week as Cal State San Marcos gained five first-place votes and garnered 574 points for the No. 2 spot. St. Francis (Ill.) collected the last four first-place votes and 558 points to remain at No. 3. No. 4 Oklahoma Baptist earned 539 points, while No. 5 British Columbia notched 508 points.

Jumping to No. 16 from No. 24 is Morningside (Iowa) after taking second place, behind NCAA Division II Sioux Falls (S.D.), at the Briar Cliff (Iowa) Cross Country Invitational. The Mustangs were led by Taylor Chapman’s fifth place finish.

A trio of newcomers, No. 17 Wayland Baptist (Texas), No. 23 Cornerstone (Mich.) and No. 24 Saint Mary (Kan.) join the Top 25 this week. All three of these teams have been ranked this year. Last week, Wayland Baptist won the South Plains College (Texas) Cross Country Festival. Cody Risch led Cornerstone to a fifth place finish at the Michigan Intercollegiate Championship on Oct. 5, and Saint Mary won the Haskell (Kan.) Invitational on Oct. 6.

Baker (Kan.)(No. 22.), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (No. 23) and Northwest Christian (Ore.) (No. 25) all fell out of the Top 25 this week.

Thirteen conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by the Cascade Collegiate Conference with five teams. Representing the Cascade are Southern Oregon, No. 8 Concordia (Ore.), No. 12 College of Idaho, No. 14 Eastern Oregon, and No. 25 Oregon Tech.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups. The sixth regular-season Top 25 poll will be announced on Oct. 17.

Lady Mustangs Earn a No. 13 Ranking

For the second-consecutive week Cal State San Marcos holds on to the No. 1 ranking in the fifth edition of the 2012 NAIA Women’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. The Cougars received 19-of-23 first-place votes and 650 points to earn the top spot.

Cal State San Marcos was idle this week and returns to action on Oct. 13 at the Santa Clara (Calif.) Bronco Invite. This is the eighth time in schools history the Cougars have been ranked No. 1.

Remaining at No. 2 is British Columbia with earned 624 points. College of Idaho collected the last four first-place votes and moved into a tie for third with Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), as the Coyotes and Tigers received 606 points. Rounding out the top five is No. 5 Biola (Calif.) with 570 points.

Joining the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 14, 2009 is No. 18 Doane (Neb.). The Tigers finished third in the Briar Cliff (Iowa) Cross Country Invitational. Doane finished behind NCAA DI Nebraska – Omaha and No. 10 Dordt (Iowa).

Jumping five spots, from No. 14 to No. 9, is Cornerstone (Mich.). The Golden Eagles finished fourth out of 19 teams in the Michigan Intercollegiate Championships. The No. 9 ranking is the highest in school history for Cornerstone. Oklahoma Baptist was right behind Cornerstone as the Bison jumped four spots, No. 16 to No. 12.

Falling from the Top 25 is Eastern Oregon (No. 25).

Eleven conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by the Golden State Athletic Conference with four ranked teams. The Cascade Collegiate Conference, Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Frontier Conference, and Great Plains Athletic Conference follow with three ranked teams each.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups. The sixth regular-season Top 25 poll will be announced on Oct. 17.