Kansas City, MO – The University of the Cumberlands women's cross country team made the largest jump among ranked teams in the latest NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25, moving nine spots to a tie for No. 16, the national office announced Thursday.

The Patriots collected 275 points in the final regular-season rating of the 2026 season after being ranked No. 25 in the previous poll.

Cumberlands' rise comes following a strong showing at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge, where the Patriots placed second out of 20 scoring teams with 77 points. Lea Kunstmann captured the individual title with a time of 17:40.8, while Jule Krauss placed seventh in a career-best 18:23.6.

Tigist Bergman finished 18th in 19:01.1, followed by Heather Durrant in 20th at 19:03.6. Brianna Hillock rounded out the scoring five with a 32nd-place finish in 19:20.6.

Dordt (Iowa) remained No. 1 with 16 first-place votes and 555 points. College of Idaho sits second, followed by Milligan (Tenn.) in third, Cornerstone (Mich.) in fourth, and St. Francis (Ill.) rounding out the top five.

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

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