By: Isaac Fernandez, Assistant SID
ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon University cross country teams will both begin the season in the NAIA Top 25 after coming in at No. 19 in the women's and No. 22 in the men's preseason polls that were released Thursday.
Taylor (Ind.) is the top-ranked women's team after finishing second at the 2024 NAIA National Championship, returning the race's individual national champion in sophomore Jaynie Halterman.
The Raider women return Alyssa Johnson, who led last year's squad to a 16th-place national finish and earned her first NAIA All-America honor with a 32nd-place showing. They return three others from the 2024 season, including national squad members Mercedes Harms and Ashley Jentzsch. The Raiders also brought on four freshmen and a sophomore transfer from Oregon State. They were picked to finish fourth in the Cascade Conference.
The Master's (Calif.) claimed the No. 1 spot in the preseason poll after finishing fourth at last year's nationals and bringing back fourth-place national finisher Jack Anderson.
The Raider men land at No. 22 after not sending a team to last year's championships. They'll bring back an NAIA track and field All-American in Mason Weisgerber and five others from last year's team. SOU also added two freshmen and a junior transfer from Northwest Nazarene to the roster. They were picked to finish fifth in the Cascade Conference.
The Raiders open up their season on Sept. 6 at the Simpson Invitational in Cottonwood, Calif.
An in-depth preview on the Southern Oregon cross country teams will be released next week.
2025 NAIA Women's Top 25 Preseason Poll
|
#
|
INSTITUTION
|
POINTS
|
|
1
|
Taylor (Ind.)
|
507
|
|
2
|
Milligan (Tenn.)
|
488
|
|
3
|
The Master's (Calif.)
|
475
|
|
4
|
Cumberlands (Ky.)
|
436
|
|
5
|
Saint Mary (Kan.)
|
434
|
|
6
|
Marian (Ind.)
|
407
|
|
7
|
Grace (Ind.)
|
382
|
|
8
|
SCAD Savannah (Ga.)
|
380
|
|
9
|
Dordt (Iowa)
|
364
|
|
10
|
Montreat (N.C.)
|
359
|
|
11
|
Indiana Wesleyan
|
342
|
|
12
|
College of Idaho
|
329
|
|
13
|
Kansas Wesleyan
|
307
|
|
14
|
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
|
305
|
|
15
|
Cornerstone (Mich.)
|
271
|
|
16
|
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)
|
252
|
|
17
|
Aquinas (Mich.)
|
216
|
|
18
|
SCAD Atlanta (Ga.)
|
212
|
|
19
|
Southern Oregon
|
201
|
|
20
|
Eastern Oregon
|
170
|
|
21
|
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
|
132
|
|
22
|
St. Francis (Ill.)
|
123
|
|
23
|
Montana Tech
|
121
|
|
24
|
Carroll (Mont.)
|
87
|
|
25
|
Oklahoma City
|
86
|
2025 NAIA Men's Top 25 Preseason Poll
|
#
|
INSTITUTION
|
POINTS
|
|
1
|
The Master's (Calif.)
|
496
|
|
2
|
Milligan (Tenn.)
|
486
|
|
3
|
Taylor (Ind.)
|
471
|
|
4
|
Cumberlands (Ky.)
|
465
|
|
5
|
Marian (Ind.)
|
421
|
|
6
|
Spring Arbor (Mich.)
|
409
|
|
7
|
College of Idaho
|
382
|
|
8
|
Indiana Wesleyan
|
365
|
|
9
|
Corban (Ore.)
|
363
|
|
10
|
Saint Mary (Kan.)
|
338
|
|
11
|
Eastern Oregon
|
333
|
|
12
|
Carroll (Mont.)
|
331
|
|
13
|
Indiana-East
|
324
|
|
14
|
Doane (Neb.)
|
307
|
|
15
|
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)
|
254
|
|
16
|
Aquinas (Mich.)
|
238
|
|
17
|
Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
|
230
|
|
18
|
Dordt (Iowa)
|
219
|
|
T-19
|
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
|
177
|
|
T-19
|
Montreat (N.C.)
|
177
|
|
21
|
Goshen (Ind.)
|
113
|
|
22
|
Southern Oregon
|
112
|
|
23
|
Kansas Wesleyan
|
110
|
|
24
|
Shawnee State (Ohio)
|
107
|
|
25
|
Rio Grande (Ohio)
|
100
|
