NAIA Unveils 2025 Men’s Cross Country Championship Field
(Story provided by NAIA Athletic Communications)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Team and individual qualifiers for the 2025 NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship have been announced, as 36 teams set sights on a Red Banner at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.
The championship will be broadcast on NAIA Network and Urban Edge Network. Visit NAIA.org/watch for links, including URLs, mobile apps, and smart TV information. The men's race is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET, and awards at approximately 11 a.m. ET.
The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) is represented by two teams - Milligan and Montreat, as well as six individuals. The individuals are Trett Wells, Paul Moore, William Karim, and Cormac Dow of SCAD Atlanta; Ryan Hunter of Spartanburg Methodist; and Braniff Mahoney of Reinhardt.
Milligan won the 2025 AAC Men's Cross Country championship, while Montreat finished as the runner-up.
Last season's national champion, the College of Idaho, is back in the 2025 field as an at-large qualifier, as well as the 2024 runner-up that finished just nine points back, Milligan (Tenn.), in as an automatic qualifier out of the Appalachian Athletic Conference.
In addition to the 23 automatic bids through conference qualification, 13 at-large selections were determined by the final edition of the 2025 NAIA Men's Cross Country Top 25 Coaches' Rating, reviewed by the rating's Oversight Committee.
74 Individual Qualifiers also made the field, based on scoring finishes in conference meets. Visit NAIA.org later this week for a full preview of the 70th-Annual NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship.
Watch the Field Reveal on YouTube
| INSTITUTION | CONFERENCE | HOW THEY QUALIFIED: | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Columbia (Mo.) | American Midwest Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Milligan (Tenn.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Montreat (N.C.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | Conference Runner Up |
|
Simpson (Calif.) | California Pacific Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Eastern Oregon | Cascade Collegiate Conference | Conference Champion |
|
St. Francis (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Haskell (Kan.) | Continental Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads League | Conference Champion |
|
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | Frontier Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Doane (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
The Master's (Calif.) | Great Southwest Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Wiley (Texas) | HBCU Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Park (Mo.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Mount Mercy (Iowa) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | Conference Runner Up |
|
Saint Mary (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Kansas Wesleyan | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | Conference Runner Up |
|
Cumberlands (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | Red River Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Rio Grande (Ohio) | River States Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Oklahoma City | Sooner Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Mobile (Ala.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Ave Maria (Fla.) | The Sun Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Cornerstone (Mich.) | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
|
Taylor (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large Qualifier |
|
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | Great Southwest Athletic Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
|
Southern Oregon | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
|
College of Idaho | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
|
Spring Arbor (Mich.) | Crossroads League | At-Large Qualifier |
|
Trinity Western (B.C.) | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
|
IU East (Ind.) | River States Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
|
Goshen (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large Qualifier |
|
Madonna (Mich.) | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
|
Carroll (Mont.) | Frontier Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
|
Marian (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large Qualifier |
|
Corban (Ore.) | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
|
Aquinas (Mich.) | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | At-Large Qualifier |