Women's Cross Country | 08/27/21 | 10:19 AM
HELENA, Mont. – The NAIA announced its preseason rankings and the Frontier Conference announced its preseason coaches' poll this week for both men's and women's cross country. Carroll College is projected at 17
th nationally for the women and 22
nd nationally for the men. In the conference polls, Carroll College was voted to finish in first place for women and tied as a favorite to win for men.
Carroll's women won the conference championship in fall of 2020 to earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship, while Rocky Mountain College won the men's championship. During the spring 2021 portion of the season, Carroll's men ran to an at-large bid to join the women in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At Nationals, the women finished 19
th and the men finished 24
th. Carroll graduated only one senior from the two squads.
The national poll was voted on by a panel consisting of one head coach from each conference. Points are awarded based on rankings from the raters. Additional Top 25 ratings will take place on Sept. 23, Oct. 7, Oct. 14, Oct. 28, and Nov. 9.
For the conference poll, coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. First place was worth five points, second place worth four points, third place worth three points, fourth place worth two points, and fifth place worth one point. Full conference scores are below:
Women Men
Carroll College (5) 25 Carroll College (3) 23
Rocky Mountain College 19 Rocky Mountain College (3) 23
Montana Western (1) 17 Montana Tech 15
Montana Tech 15 Montana Western 12
MSU-Northern 9 MSU-Northern 12
Providence 5 Providence 5
(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
The Saints will open the season on September 13 in Dillon, Mont. at the Frontier Conference Preview.
