Kansas City, MO – The University of the Cumberlands men's cross country team remained atop the NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25, the national office announced Thursday. The Patriots collected all 20 first-place votes and the maximum 560 points to hold the No. 1 spot in the final regular-season rating of the 2026 season.

Cumberlands enters the championship portion of the season following a dominant performance at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge. The Patriots captured the team title with 22 points, placing four runners inside the top five and all five scorers inside the top eight.

Luca Madeo led UC with a runner-up finish and set a new Cumberlands 8K program record with a time of 23:33.4. James Ndayishimiye followed in third at 24:03.8, while Noah Loeser placed fourth in 24:05.3 and Collin De Julio finished fifth in 24:08.3. Caleb Hershey rounded out the scoring five with an eighth-place finish in 24:11.3.

Madonna (Mich.) moved into the No. 2 spot with 541 points, while Southern Oregon sits third with 506 points. The Master's (Calif.) is fourth with 492 points, and Marian (Ind.) rounds out the top five with 489 points.

The Patriots return to competition on Friday, November 6, at the Mid-South Conference Championships in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

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