TSR's 2024 NAIA XC Top 25 Team Rankings (Women): Update #2 (Three Sentences or Less)

Marissa Kuik
Oct 31, 2024
8 min read

Written by Marissa Kuik, edits & additional details via Garrett Zatlin

NOTE: These rankings are based on how a team fared throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at a singular meet or (eventually) at the 2024 NAIA XC Championships. Click here to learn more about our ranking criteria (which was published in 2023).

KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked in our last update.

(#/#):

First number indicates how much the team has moved in the rankings.

The second number indicates where the team was ranked in our last update.

25. Aquinas Saints (-3 / 22)

The Saints have had an unbalanced season thus far, beating some pretty good names, but then at other meets, losing to plenty of teams ranked below them. At their most recent outing, Aquinas competed at the Great Lakes Challenge and finished 14th overall behind Goshen, Rocky Mountain and Montana Tech just to name a few. They've done enough this season to remain ranked, but their volatility sends them back a few spots.

24. Montana Tech Orediggers (Unranked)

This past weekend, the Orediggers had their first challenge against other NAIA schools not in their region at the Great Lakes Challenge. Montana Tech ended up in 9th place overall and beat a few other key squads on this list, including Goshen and Carroll. That subtly solid improvement from the Orediggers helped them enter our rankings.

23. Goshen Maple Leafs (-3 / 20)

Finishing 11th at the Great Lakes Challenge was a slightly underwhelming result for Goshen. The Maple Leafs seemed to struggle with any sort of pack-running and with their time spread being over two minutes, Goshen fell in the team standings. They also ended up getting beat by other NAIA teams ranked lower than them, forcing us to drop a bit them in our rankings.

22. Carroll Fighting Saints (-6 / 16)

Taking a big drop in our rankings is Carroll after a less-than-stellar showing at the Great Lakes Challenge. The Fighting Saints surprisingly finished in only 13th place and lost to teams, such as Rocky Mountain and Montana Tech, which were two teams who Carroll had repeatedly finished ahead of this season. One of their front-runners, Anna Terry, did have an "off" day and finished further back, but it was still surprising to see how this squad fared overall.

21. Rocky Mountain Bears (+4 / 25)

The Rocky Mountain women had a pretty solid outing at the Great Lakes Challenge, coming away with a respectable 8th place finish and defeating other teams they had lost to earlier in the season. The Bears were led by two strong performances from Grace Timm and Kallyn Wilkins, both of whom finished in the top-30.

20. Oklahoma City Stars (+1 / 21)

Choosing a different meet than some of the other NAIA schools was Oklahoma City as they competed at the very competitive Arturo Barrios Invitational. The Stars competed against a mainly Division One field and despite the larger size of the meet, OCU largely matched up with our expectations for them. However, until the rest of the scoring five can start closing some gaps, the Stars may struggle to move up any further in our rankings.

19. Lewis-Clark Warriors (0 / 19)

In a good showing at the Blazing Tiger Classic, the Warriors placed 5th overall behind Kansas Wesleyan. The Lewis-Clark women were led by Damaris Kibiwot and Grace Tiegs, both of whom finished in the top-25 in a very competitive field of NAIA schools. Though their 3-4-5 runners were further back then we had hoped for, they still kept their time-spread relatively close, giving us optimism about the relative stability at the backend of their lineup.

18. Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes (0 / 18)

The Coyotes looked very strong at Blazing Tiger where they finished 4th overall only behind St. Mary (KS), College of Idaho and Dordt. This team has continued to improve their stock and their top-three runners have put themselves near the front of competitive field. Though their fourth and fifth runners are further back, the overall structure of this team makes the Coyotes a strong contender for a top-20 finish at the national meet.

17. Olivet Nazarene Tigers (-2 / 15)

Though this team does not have a true low-stick, Hannah Haag has secured a handful of wins and the Tigers have shown off some tight packs. At the Great Lakes Challenge, Olivet Nazarene finished 7th overall and only two points behind St. Francis (IL). Their time-spread of 42 seconds solidified them as one of the better teams in the NAIA, but they do take a drop in our rankings because of other teams’ performances.

16. St. Francis Fighting Saints (IL) (+1 / 17)

Another team that has been a little up and down this season is the Saints, although they did put together a good showing at the Great Lakes Challenge, finishing 6th overall. One cause for their small improvement could be their tight time-spread fro, their second through fifth runners at this meet (which was only 25 seconds). With the continued improvement of that spread, the Saints may start to climb back to their original preseason ranking.

15. SCAD Savannah Bees (-1 / 14)

The Bees' lineup structure has been pretty consistent this season with the team being led by Maddy Walter-Sherretts while their 2-3-4 runners have held strong. Unfortunately, what does hurt their score is the gap to their fifth runner which happened again at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge where they placed. And until their fifth scorer can start closing the gap, the Bees will struggle to beat some of the other teams listed ahead of them.

14. Cornerstone Golden Eagles (-1 / 13)

Though the Golden Eagles do not have a true low-stick, the top-half of their lineup definitely helps carry the team which was exactly what happened at the Great Lakes Challenge where they finished 5th overall. For Cornerstone, Kori Baumann has been the lead scorer for the team. If she can start establishing herself as a top ace, then Cornerstone will start inching towards a top-10 position in our rankings.

13. Embry-Riddle Arizona Eagles (-1 / 12)

One of the other NAIA teams at the Highlander Invite was Embry-Riddle Arizona, who finished a respectable 12th place as a team in a mostly Division One field. Sophia Noriega is definitely blossoming into a potential true low-stick for her team after her 29th place finish. With her continued improvement and the growth of Zoe Tizard, the Eagles still look to be in good shape and only drop because of other teams’ performances.

12. Southern Oregon Raiders (-1 / 11)

One of the only teams who competed at a non-NAIA meet was Southern Oregon who ran against other schools at the Linfield George Oja Invitational. The Raiders finished a strong 4th place overall and led by freshman Fiona Fraser who finished 9th overall. Fraser’s improvement, paired with the strength and consistency of Alyssa Johnson and Cammeo Ramirez, has this team in good standing as we enter the postseason.

11. Marian (IN) Knights (Unranked)

At the Great Lakes Challenge, the Knights finished 4th overall and were only one point behind Indiana Wesleyan, all of which was enough in our eyes to make a large boost into our rankings. We still need to see Katie Woods show greater consistency as a low-stick standout (she was great at her most recent meet) and other runners will need to improve. Even so, Marian (IN) seemingly has all of the necessary pieces to be a top-10 squad this fall.

10. Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats (0 / 10)

The Wildcats stay at TSR #10 largely because their performance at the Great Lakes Challenge, where they finished 3rd overall, matched our expectations. A huge positive for Indiana Wesleyan is Addi Dewey’s improvement as she went from not even scoring to being IWU's second runner in just the span of a couple of weeks. If Dewey starts running with Elizabeth Barrett, then this team will undoubtedly move up in our rankings.

9. Grace College Lancers (IN) (0 / 9)

With Kylie Sauder and Esther Cameron serving as the two low-sticks for this team, Grace has continued to impress this season, something that we further saw at the Great Lakes Challenge. The Lancers placed 2nd overall in that field as their 3-4-5 runners looked very strong, closing the gap slightly on Sauder and Cameron, which is only making this team stronger.

8. Dordt University Defenders (-1 / 7)

Though Dordt does move down one spot in our rankings, it is because of the impressive performance of Montreat. In our eyes, the Defenders did quite well at Blazing Tiger, placing 3rd overall -- a great performance for a team that really hasn't seen a ton of competition this season. Dordt has definitely proven that they can handle the top names in the NAIA, making them a good bet for a top-10 team finish at the national meet.

7. College of Idaho Coyotes (-1 / 6)

The Coyotes finished a strong 2nd place overall at Blazing Tiger as Kahea Figueria also showed strength as a low-stick by finishing runner-up. A negative, however, for the Coyotes was that their fifth runner was over 20 places back from their fourth runner. Thankfully, Sage Martin did return (though not in this race) and even though it was not one of her stronger efforts, her proven talent can't be forgotten as we enter the postseason.

6. Montreat Cavaliers (+2 / 8)

With the addition of Heather Murphy, the Cavaliers look like a team that could contend for a top-five spot on the national stage. At the NAIA Appalachian Challenge, Montreat placed 2nd overall, defeating Cumberlands (KY), although the Patriots were missing a couple of their top runners. With a true low-stick leading the way, the Cavaliers look like legitimate podium threats.

5. Cumberlands Patriots (KY) (0 / 5)

Though the Patriots did finish behind Montreat and placed 3rd at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge, they were also without Elizabeth Lucason and Heather Durrant (both of whom have been part of their scoring five at previous meets). Thankfully, the Patriots also added Elke Wijkmans to their lineup. She finished 11th overall, theoretically making Cumberlands even stronger when they field a full lineup.

4. Saint Mary Spires (KS) (0 / 4)

One team that should not be counted out to finish in the top-three at the national meet is the Spires who recently took home the victory at Blazing Tiger. Saint Mary (KS) took down College of Idaho to do it and beat them by over 30 points! The team continues to improve their time-spread (this time keeping it to 48 seconds), further showcasing their growth as a very real podium favorite.

3. Milligan Buffaloes (0 / 3)

Even without Kirsten Geary, Milligan was able to win the NAIA Appalachian Challenge against Montreat and Cumberlands (KY). Despite Montreat adding a new low-stick star, the Buffaloes great depth ultimately proved to be superior. Being able to defeat a top-ranked team without even having all of your best women is extremely impressive.

2. The Master's Mustangs (-1 / 1)

For the first time this season, the Mustangs do drop in our rankings, although they did still place 3rd at the Highlander Invite. However, The Master’s rely on all of their runners having good days and lately, Ellen Palmgren has been looking as sharp as we know she can be. Given how tight the national title race is, a small opening in the armor can be the undoing for many teams which is why the Mustangs move down one spot.

1. Taylor Trojans (+1 / 2)

The consistency of this group is really hard to match as each member of the squad consistently performs well at each meet. The Trojans easily won the Great Lakes Challenge with a meager score of 27 points. It is extremely impressive to score under 30 points at a meet of that size and caliber, thus giving us good reason to place the Trojans at TSR #1.