The Dordt University women's cross country team moved up three spots in the latest edition of the NAIA Coaches' poll released earlier today (Oct.16) by the national office.

• NAIA Press Release | PDF
• 2025 Dordt Results and Stats | 

Notes:

• the rating is compiled by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and unaffiliated groupings
• the Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each rater rates the best teams; a team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place, 28 for third-place and so on through the list.
• the Defenders moved up from ninth to into a tie for sixth place, along with The Master's (Calif.)
  • Dordt accounted for 400 points, just 22 points out of a spot in the top five that is currently owned by Indiana Wesleyan and Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
  • the Defenders earned one first place vote
• Dordt has been ranked in the top 10 in all four polls this season
  • they began the season ranked ninth, moved up to eighth in the first regular season poll and dropped back to ninth in the previous poll (Sept.25)
• the top four teams remain unchanged and held their respective spot from the last poll
  • Taylor, with 496 points and 16 of the 17 possible first place votes, leads the pack
  • Milligan (Tenn.), Cumberlands (Ky.) and Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) also held their spot and are ranked 2-4
• the Defenders push their streak of being ranked in the top 25 to an NAIA-best 100 consecutive polls, a streak that began during the 2011 season
  • during the streak, Dordt has held a spot within the top ten 70x
  • Dordt's highest ranking (No.2) happened five times during the 2014 season
  • the next longest streak of being ranked in the top 25 is Taylor (91 straight polls)
• Dordt is the lone team from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) in the top 25
• three GPAC teams, Morningside, Doane and College of Saint Mary, received votes; Concordia dropped from the receiving votes distinction
• Dordt has finished among the top four five teams in all four meets this season
• they won the first meet of the season (Sunflower Open), posted their best finish (5th) at Griak, third at BCU and last week, recorded a second place finish at the Holiday Inn Express Classic
• the Defenders nearly tallied a perfect score in the first meet of the season, totaling 16 points
• Dordt has not been beaten by an NAIA team
• two Dordt runners, Joy Koole (Sept.17 and Oct.15) and Hannah Thong (Sept.24), have earned GPAC Runner of the Week honors this season
• Koole earned the GPAC honor for the second time this season with her performance at the Holiday Inn Express Classic last weekend
• Head Coach Nate Wolf's squad will next compete at the Mount Marty Invite next week (Oct.23)