TU Women Lock in No. 1 Spot in Final NAIA Coaches’ Rating

2024 WXC National Championship Qualifiers | NAIA WXC Top-25 Poll (Final)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The top-ranked Taylor women's cross country team (80-1) kept its No. 1 spot in the final NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Rating, representing 88 top-25 poll appearances in a row for the program. 

The rating coincided with the NAIA's announcement of the 36 teams set to compete at the 2024 NAIA Women's Cross Country Championship.

Though No. 1 TU is unbeaten against NAIA competition in 2024, the Purple and Grey will face fellow title contenders No. 2 Milligan, No. 3 Saint Mary and No. 4 The Master's for the first time this season at the NAIA Championships.

Taylor is also joined by No. 9 Grace, No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 12 Marian and No. 25 Goshen as the NAIA-best five institutions hailing from the Crossroads League set to compete on the national stage.

The Trojans cruised to a 12th straight title at the CL Championships on Nov. 8, where its entire top seven were All-Crossroads League honorees. That group consists of Jaynie Halterman, Ahna Neideck, Noel VanderWall, Sam Patterson, Abby Mays, Kaitlin Burden and Audrey Brinkruff, each of whom will look to lead TU to a second red banner in three seasons.

The national meet will be held for the first time in Columbia, Missouri, where No. 1 Taylor will race at 12:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. CST on Nov. 22.