Northwest Iowa — The Dordt University men’s cross country team maintained its #13 ranking and Northwestern is receiving votes in this week’s edition of the NAIA Coaches’ poll released Thursday by the national office.
The Defenders own the No.13 spot in the Sept.23 edition of the coaches’ poll and totaled 369 points. Dordt is one of two teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) recognized in the poll (Northwestern – RV).
Dordt has a pair of top three finishes in two meets so far this fall, placing third in the Augustana Twilight and winning the GPAC Preview. The Defenders will compete at the Roy Griak Invite in St.Paul, Minn. on Friday, Sept. 24.
The last time out for the Raiders was a second-place finish at their own Red Raider Preview on September 10, finishing behind No. 13-ranked Defenders of Dordt. The squad opened the season with a top-10 finish at the Augustana Twilight filled with many high quality cross country teams across all collegiate divisions.
Senior Ian Wiersma (Zeeland, Mich./Zeeland East) has the best time for the Raiders this season – setting a personal record – with an 8k time of 26:32 time at the Red Raider Preview with a fifth-place finish at the event.
The Raiders will compete at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn. hosted by the University of Minnesota. The race is set to begin at noon tomorrow, Friday, September 24.
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | POINTS |
| 1 | 7 | Indiana Wesleyan [13] | 581 |
| 2 | 4 | Saint Mary (Kan.) [6] | 563 |
| 3 | 1 | Taylor (Ind.) | 550 |
| 4 | 5 | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | 526 |
| 5 | 6 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) [1] | 524 |
| 6 | 3 | Milligan (Tenn.) [1] | 498 |
| 7 | 2 | Huntington (Ind.) | 487 |
| 8 | 8 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 453 |
| 9 | 15 | Southern Oregon | 414 |
| 10 | 14 | The Master’s (Calif.) | 412 |
| 11 | 10 | Oklahoma City | 410 |
| 12 | 9 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | 384 |
| 13 | 13 | Dordt (Iowa) | 369 |
| 14 | 16 | College of Idaho | 340 |
| 15 | 18 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 314 |
| 16 | 17 | Montreat (N.C.) | 297 |
| 17 | 11 | Oregon Tech | 294 |
| 18 | 23 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 280 |
| 19 | NR | Grace (Ind.) | 240 |
| 20 | 19 | Northwest (Wash.) | 239 |
| 21 | 22 | Carroll (Mont.) | 208 |
| 22 | 20 | Goshen (Ind.) | 186 |
| 23 | NR | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 167 |
| 24 | NR | Eastern Oregon | 132 |
| 25 | 25 | Grand View (Iowa) | 108 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Shawnee State (Ohio), Doane (Neb.), Columbia (Mo.)
Receiving Votes: Michigan-Dearborn 75; William Carey (Miss.) 73; Montana Tech 72; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 55; Westmont (Calif.) 34; Marian (Ind.) 33; William Woods (Mo.) 26; Benedictine (Kan.) 19; Friends (Kan.) 16; Northwestern (Iowa) 16; Shawnee State (Ohio); Missouri Baptist 6; UC Merced (Calif.) 3
