Kansas City, MO – The University of the Cumberlands women's cross country team held strong at No. 3 in the latest NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Poll, released Thursday by the national office. 

The Patriots are coming off a standout performance at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge in Knoxville, Tennessee, where they placed runner-up out of 18 teams in a highly competitive field. UC totaled 78 points in the 5K race, which featured 187 runners and several nationally ranked programs. 

Leading the way once again was Lea Kunstmann, who clocked a time of 17:23.71 to finish third overall. Her effort marked the fastest time by a Patriot this season and the second-fastest 5K time in program history, further highlighting UC's depth and consistency this fall. 

Cumberlands earned 485 points in this week's poll. Taylor (Ind.) continues to hold the top spot, followed by Milligan (Tenn.), The Master's (Calif.), and College of Idaho rounding out the top five.  

The Patriots will return to competition at the Mid-South Conference Championships on Friday, November 7 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, YouTube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.