Both Concordia cross country teams moved up in the latest NAIA cross country coaches’ top 25 polls released on Wednesday. The Concordia men moved up one spot to third, and the women moved up two spots to ninth.
Malone University (Ohio) remains on top in the men’s poll. The Pioneers earned 591 points and grabbed 20-of-21 first-place votes, while Aquinas College (Mich.) is second with 569 points and the final first-place vote. Concordia sits in third with 528 points, Oklahoma Christian University is fourth with 513 points and the University of British Columbia is fifth with 497 points. Doane College is 15th with 300 points and is the only other GPAC school voted into this week’s poll.
In the women’s poll, Azusa Pacific University was selected first with 23 first-place votes and 714 total points. California State University-San Marcos is second with 692 points and the final two first-place votes. Simon Fraser University (B.C.) is third with 657 points, Biola University (Calif.) is fourth with 642 points and Cedarville University (Ohio) sits in fifth with 637 points. College of Idaho is sixth with 598 points, and Malone University (Ohio) is seventh with 580 points. Concordia University of California (555) is eighth, Concordia (528) is ninth and Indiana Wesleyan (492) rounds out the top 10. Morningside College is 18th with 293 points and is the only other GPAC school voted into this week’s poll.
Both Concordia teams turned in impressive performances at the Roy Griak Invitational this past weekend. The men’s team finished in second place with a team score of 86, while the women placed fifth with a score of 201. Senior Zach Meineke finished in fifth place overall with a time of 26:00, and sophomore Dana Schmidt finished right behind Meineke in sixth place with a time of 26:03 to lead the way for the Concordia men. Jena Schwalenberg finished in 19th place overall with a time of 23:41, and Sarah Kortze was 27th with a time of 23:53 to lead the women’s squad.