Both Concordia University cross country teams finished in the top 10 in the final NAIA Coaches’ top 25 poll announced Sunday. The Bulldog men moved up one spot to third, and the women improved one spot to eighth.
In the men’s poll, Southern Oregon University is the No. 1 team. The Raiders received 11 first-place votes and 612 points. Malone University also received 11 first-place votes and 611 points to finish close behind in second. Concordia University is third with 579 points. California State University-San Marcos is fourth with 545 points, and Shawnee State University rounds out the top five with 510 points.
The Concordia men won the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship on Saturday. Zack Meineke was the individual champion and is now a two-time GPAC champion. In all, seven Concordia runners finished in the top 15 to earn all-conference honors. Joining Meineke was David Goeglein, Dana Schmidt, Tyson Billings, Jon Grotefendt, Colin Morrissey and Luka Thor.
This is the ninth straight year and 12th of the last 14 years the Concordia men’s cross country team has qualified for the NAIA National Championship cross country meet. The team has finished in the top 25 each of those years. Last year, the Bulldogs finished sixth at the National Championship meet.
In the women’s poll, Azusa Pacific University is the No. 1 team. The cougars received 23-of-24 first-place votes and 684 points to earn the top spot. The top five also includes California State University-San Marcos (662), Simon Fraser University (640), Biola University (617) and Malone University (591). The College of Idaho (573) is sixth, followed by Cedarville University (549). Concordia is eighth with 519 points, and Point Loma Nazarene University is ninth with 492 points. Spring Arbor University rounds out the top 10 with 473 points.
The Concordia women placed second at the GPAC Championship meet on Saturday. The Bulldogs finished with 64 points and placed five runners in the top 20. Jena Schwalenberg finished third overall to lead the way for Concordia. Schwalenberg, Alicia Marteney and Emilie Bourret finished third, 12th and 15th to earn all-conference honors for the Bulldogs.
This is the 16th straight year the Concordia women’s cross country team has qualified for the NAIA National Championship cross country meet. Each of those years, the Concordia women have finished in the top 20, and the team has finished as the National Champion Runner-up four times during the stretch (’00, ’01, ’02, ’04). Last year, Concordia finished in 17th at the National Championship meet.
The NAIA National Championships will take place at Fort Vancouver Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash., on Nov. 21.