2021 NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Survey – Week 5 ::: USTFCCCA
From USTFCCCA Communications, USTFCCCA
November 9, 2021  
KANSAS CITY, Mon. – A form of dominance has grown at the top of the pre-championships edition of the NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Coach Surveypublished Monday by the NAIA National Office.
Francis (fig.) improved his position to first place while three other teams battled for positions in the top five after an eventful conference championship weekend.
Everything will be on Friday, November 19th, im 2021 NAIA Cross Country Championships, held at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Washington.
NAIA – men’s cross-country skiing
The national top five this week
1
Francis (fig.)
2
Holy Mary (Kan.)
3
Milligan (Tenn.)
4th
Taylor (Ind.)
5
Indiana Wesleyan
Cross-country surveys and rankings
St. Francis received all but one spot in the latest poll, making it the most dominant program this season. The Saints impressed by winning the Chicagoland Conference with 21 points when Omar Paramo took the singles title. St. Francis last won the National NAIA Championships in 2012 when the meeting was also held in Fort Vancouver.
Staying in second place for the fifth week in a row is Holy Mary (Kan.), KCAC championship winner behind individual champ Johnathan Bowen. The Spiers – almost runner-up by St. Francis in the Great Lakes Challenge two weeks ago – are aiming for their very first NAIA cross-country title (Saint Mary finished second in 2015).
Moving up one place to 3rd place is Milligan (Tenn.), which earned first place in the survey in a row. The buffs, 17 points behind individual champion Aaron Jones, were almost perfect to win the Appalachian Conference crown. Milligan finished third in the 2020 NAIA Championships held last April – their highest result of the encounter to date.
Taylor (Ind.) rises to 4th place. The reigning NAIA national champion won the rugged Crossroads League title for the first time since 1994, this time with two other top 10 programs in its wake. Individual leader for the Trojans was Derek Van Prooyen, just ahead of former team No. 1 Daniel Gerber.
Indiana Wesleyan is No. 5. The Wildcats were just behind Taylor in a battle of the top-10 squads at the mighty Crossroads League Championships when Steven Ott led the team for the first time this year. The IWU, which was No. 1 this year before, will seek a national NAIA crown for the first time; the best completion of the program was second place in 2018.
The top 10 are rounded off by No. 6 Oklahoma City, No. 7 The Master (California), No. 8 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), No. 9 Huntington (Ind.) and No. 10 College of Idaho.