Milligan Begins Season Ranked No. 2; Three AAC Teams Pick Up Votes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Three Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) teams received votes in the NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national organization announced on Thursday.
Milligan leads the way as it is ranked No. 2 with 541 voting points. Meanwhile, Montreat checks in at No. 15 with 318 voting points.
Truett McConnell received eight votes to land 11 spots outside the top 25.
Poll Methodology
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences.
• Each conference is represented by one rater.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 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 will be 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."
| RANK | LAST YEAR | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | FINAL POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Taylor (Ind.) [20] | 560 |
| 2 | 2 | Milligan (Tenn.) | 541 |
| 3 | 6 | College of Idaho | 523 |
| 4 | 4 | The Master's (Calif.) | 482 |
| 5 | 7 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 470 |
| 6 | 3 | Saint Mary (Kan.) | 469 |
| 7 | 8 | Dordt (Iowa) | 461 |
| 8 | 11 | Huntington (Ind.) | 450 |
| 9 | 12 | Southern Oregon | 433 |
| 10 | 10 | Indiana Wesleyan | 392 |
| 11 | 14 | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | 372 |
| 12 | 16 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 357 |
| 13 | 22 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 339 |
| 14 | 17 | Grace (Ind.) | 323 |
| 15 | 15 | Montreat (N.C.) | 318 |
| 16 | 23 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 263 |
| 17 | 5 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | 252 |
| 18 | 17 | Indiana Tech | 217 |
| 19 | 19 | Carroll (Mont.) | 215 |
| 20 | RV | William Woods (Mo.) | 207 |
| 21 | RV | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 190 |
| 22 | 20 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 185 |
| 23 | RV | Concordia (Neb.) | 159 |
| 24 | RV | Goshen (Ind.) | 141 |
| 25 | NR | Eastern Oregon | 137 |
Others Receiving Votes: Texas Wesleyan 91, Oregon Tech 91, William Carey (Miss.) 80, Montana Tech 56, SCAD Savannah (Ga.) 53, Hastings (Neb.) 30, Vanguard (Calif.) 23, Tabor (Kan.) 19, Southeastern (Fla.) 19, Oklahoma City 14, Truett McConnell (Ga.) 8, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 5.