Milligan Women's Cross Country Tabbed No. 1 in the First NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Rating

The Milligan women's cross country squad was picked first in the opening regular-season NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Rating for the first time since 2022

September 26, 2024

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - On Thursday, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the results of the NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Rating - No. 1. The rating lists Milligan as the top-ranked squad in the land after their victory at the Brevard XC Classic in Brevard, N.C. The rating is rated by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and unaffiliated groupings. The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each rater rates the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place, 28 for third-place and so on through the list.

Overall, the Buffaloes earned 492 ponts in the rating, earning eight of the 19 first-place votes. Over the course of the young season, Milligan has had massive success from their entire squad, including a perfect score posted in Brevard this past weekend. Additionally, they own a 3-2 head-to-head record against NCAA Division I opponents to this point in the season. It is the first time that the Lady Buffs have been rated No. 1 since Oct. 13 of 2022.

Click HERE to view the release at NAIA.org.

The full rating is listed below:

RANK	LAST TIME	INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES]	FINAL POINTS
1	2	Milligan (Tenn.) [8]	492
2	1	Saint Mary (Kan.) [4]	487
3	3	The Master's (Calif.) [3]	478
4	4	Taylor (Ind.) [4]	477
5	5	Cumberlands (Ky.)	444
6	6	College of Idaho	422
7	8	Montreat (N.C.)	400
8	7	Dordt (Iowa)	393
9	11	Southern Oregon	368
10	10	St. Francis (Ill.)	350
11	16	Grace (Ind.)	323
12	12	Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)	322
13	15	SCAD Savanah (Ga.)	294
14	14	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	285
15	9	Indiana Wesleyan	281
16	13	Huntington (Ind.)	243
17	17	Cornerstone (Mich.)	242
18	RV	Kansas Wesleyan	196
19	RV	Carroll (Mont.)	196
20	18	Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)	194
21	24	Aquinas (Mich.)	163
22	25	Mount Mercy (Iowa)	130
23	22	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	122
24	NR	SCAD Atlanta (Ga.)	104
25	20	Concordia (Neb.)	93

Dropped from Top 25: Montana Tech, Benedictine (Kan.), Missouri Baptist

Receiving Votes: Montana Tech 68, Marian (Ind.) 65, Oklahoma City 64, Eastern Oregon 37, Doane (Neb.) 36, Saint Mary (Neb.) 20, Benedictine (Kan.) 19, Campbellsville (Ky.) 13, Cumberland (Tenn.) 11, Missouri Baptist 10, William Woods (Mo.) 5, Dalton (Ga.) 4, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 3, UC Merced (Calif.) 3, St. Francis (Ind.) 2