KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The field is set for the 2026 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championship in Vancouver, Wash., with 36 NAIA Women’s Cross Country programs preparing to compete for the Red Banner. The women’s 6K championship race is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. PT.
Defending national champion Taylor (Ind.) returns to the field after claiming its second women’s cross country national title in 2025. The Trojans, rated No. 9 nationally, will also feature defending individual national champion Jaynie Halterman, who set a championship record of 20:13.2 last season.
Dordt (Iowa) enters the championship as the nation’s top-ranked team, while Doane (Neb.) secured the final at-large berth in the field via the final rating of the 2026 season. (link)
Dordt finished third at last year’s championship, while Milligan (Tenn.) placed second and The Master’s (Calif.), rated No. 7 entering this year’s event, finished fourth.
In addition to the qualifying teams, 84 individual student-athletes from nonqualifying programs earned berths in the national championship.
The championship will be streamed live on the NAIA Network at NAIANetwork.com. Fans can watch the complete field reveal on the NAIA’s YouTube channel at YouTube.com/PlayNAIA.
| INSTITUTION | CONFERENCE | HOW THEY QUALIFIED |
|---|---|---|
| Columbia (Mo.) | American Midwest Conference | Conference Champion |
| Milligan (Tenn.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| Simpson (Calif.) | California Pacific Conference | Conference Champion |
| College of Idaho | Cascade Collegiate Conference | Conference Champion |
| St. Francis (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| Haskell (Kan.) | Continental Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| Grace (Ind.) | Crossroads League | Conference Champion |
| Carroll (Mont.) | Frontier Conference | Conference Champion |
| Dordt (Iowa) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| The Master’s (Calif.) | Great Southwest Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| Dillard (La.) | HBCU Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| Benedictine (Kan.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| Kansas Wesleyan | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| Cumberlands (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference | Conference Champion |
| Texas A&M -Texarkana | Red River Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| Rio Grande (Ohio) | River States Conference | Conference Champion |
| Oklahoma City | Sooner Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| William Carey (Miss.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| Southeastern (Fla.) | The Sun Conference | Conference Champion |
| Cornerstone (Mich.) | Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference | Conference Champion |
| Montreat (N.C.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | Conference Runner Up |
| Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | Cascade Collegiate Conference | Conference Runner Up |
| College of Saint Mary (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | Conference Runner Up |
| Mount Mercy (Iowa) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | Conference Runner Up |
| University of Saint Mary (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | Conference Runner Up |
| Southern Oregon | Cascade Collegiate Conference | Host Berth |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | Great Southwest Athletic Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
| Taylor (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large Qualifier |
| Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads League | At-Large Qualifier |
| Eastern Oregon | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
| Marian (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large Qualifier |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
| Saint Francis (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large Qualifier |
| SCAD (Ga.) | The Sun Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
| IU East (Ind.) | River States Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
| Doane (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | At-Large Qualifier |
| NAME | INSTITUTION | CONFERENCE |
|---|---|---|
| Arabelle McDonald | Cottey (Mo.) | American Midwest Conference |
| Abby Baxter | UHSP (Mo.) | American Midwest Conference |
| Hannah Nation | UHSP (Mo.) | American Midwest Conference |
| Whitney Auguste | UHSP (Mo.) | American Midwest Conference |
| Averie Akin | Brenau (Ga.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference |
| Victoria Woods | Brenau (Ga.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference |
| Emily Cathey | Bryan (Tenn.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference |
| Olivia Edwards | Reinhardt (Ga.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference |
| Rylee Fisher | Reinhardt (Ga.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference |
| Riley Stevens | Truett McConnell (Ga.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference |
| Ashley Hamilton | Pacific Union (Calif.) | California Pacific Conference |
| Luiza Sapucaia | Stanton (Calif.) | California Pacific Conference |
| Eden Rosensteel | Bushnell (Ore.) | Cascade Collegiate Conference |
| Alauna Carstens | Evergreen State (Wash.) | Cascade Collegiate Conference |
| Rachel Elliott | Northwest (Wash.) | Cascade Collegiate Conference |
| Anika Jenson | Oregon Tech | Cascade Collegiate Conference |
| Catherine Roper | Trinity Western (B.C.) | Cascade Collegiate Conference |
| Camila Mendez | Governors State (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Kaylee O’Sullivan | Governors State (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Sophia Flowers | Governors State (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Dinah Ault | Gorgia Southern – East Georgia Campus | Continental Athletic Conference |
| Loralai Lambert | Florida National | Continental Athletic Conference |
| Sadie McGuinn | Georgia Gwinnett | Continental Athletic Conference |
| Arissa Cathey | Hesston (Kan.) | Continental Athletic Conference |
| Abbey Gentz | Huntington (Ind.) | Crossroads League |
| Madyson Oudbier | Spring Arbor (Mich.) | Crossroads League |
| Grace Steinmetz | Bellevue (Neb.) | Frontier Conference |
| Maggie Boley | Bellevue (Neb.) | Frontier Conference |
| Valerija Curikova | Dakota State (S.D.) | Frontier Conference |
| Frida Barrera | Valley City State (N.D.) | Frontier Conference |
| Hope Beck | Concordia (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference |
| Grace Dow | Hastings (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference |
| Estefana Beisswenger | Morningside (Iowa) | Great Plains Athletic Conference |
| Gabby Ryan | Morningside (Iowa) | Great Plains Athletic Conference |
| Emily De Groot | Northwestern (Iowa) | Great Plains Athletic Conference |
| Kayden Spencer | Northwestern (Iowa) | Great Plains Athletic Conference |
| Alison Unruh | Arizona Christian | Great Southwest Athletic Conference |
| Piper Shannon | Arizona Christian | Great Southwest Athletic Conference |
| Priscilla Celis-Saldivar | Arizona Christian | Great Southwest Athletic Conference |
| Yuko Hashimoto | Soka (Calif.) | Great Southwest Athletic Conference |
| Danae Chris-Anderson | Huston-Tillotson (Texas) | HBCU Athletic Conference |
| Aydin Collins | Stillman (Ala.) | HBCU Athletic Conference |
| Kirlan-Loryn Williams | Stillman (Ala.) | HBCU Athletic Conference |
| J’Niah Jackson | Virgin Islands | HBCU Athletic Conference |
| Sarah Kirby | Central Methodist (Mo.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference |
| Delaney Straus | Culver-Stockton (Mo.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference |
| Julia Whorton | Missouri Baptist | Heart of America Athletic Conference |
| Anna Joyce | Park (Mo.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference |
| Kaitlyn Knoche | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Heart of America Athletic Conference |
| Claire Rye | William Penn (Iowa) | Heart of America Athletic Conference |
| Adriana McGregor | Evangel (Mo.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Jayden Chambers | Evangel (Mo.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Kadence Oehlschlager | Evangel (Mo.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Tessa Lovell | Evangel (Mo.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Rose Buck | Friends (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Harper Brickley | Tabor (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Elizabeth Agyei | Cumberland (Tenn.) | Mid-South Conference |
| Wendy Komane | Cumberland (Tenn.) | Mid-South Conference |
| Mary Pearce | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | Mid-South Conference |
| Rebecca Kainer | Georgetown (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference |
| Naomi Peregrina | North Texas at Dallas (Texas) | Red River Athletic Conference |
| Zaddie Santacruz | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | Red River Athletic Conference |
| Alicia Martinez | Texas A&M-San Antonio | Red River Athletic Conference |
| Bethany Iniguez | Texas A&M-San Antonio | Red River Athletic Conference |
| Abby Fleetwood | IU Columbus | River States Conference |
| Phoebe Dowty | IU Columbus | River States Conference |
| Haley Blackburn | IU Kokomo | River States Conference |
| Lexus Ralph | Midway (Ky.) | River States Conference |
| Emilie Zylstra | College of the Ozarks (Mo.) | Sooner Athletic Conference |
| Keena Goze | College of the Ozarks (Mo.) | Sooner Athletic Conference |
| Abigail Stucker | John Brown (Ark.) | Sooner Athletic Conference |
| Allie Robertson | John Brown (Ark.) | Sooner Athletic Conference |
| Kylie Gray | Dalton State (Ga.) | Southern States Athletic Conference |
| Claire Atkins | Mobile (Ala.) | Southern States Athletic Conference |
| Alyssa Andrea | Tennessee Southern | Southern States Athletic Conference |
| Vera Maisaje | Tennessee Southern | Southern States Athletic Conference |
| Catalina Schwab | Ave Maria (Fla.) | The Sun Conference |
| Lily Hynds | Ave Maria (Fla.) | The Sun Conference |
| Gabriella Isabella | St. Thomas (Fla.) | The Sun Conference |
| Kaycie Aquilino | St. Thomas (Fla.) | The Sun Conference |
| Amber Koole | Aquinas (Mich.) | Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference |
| Bronwyn Nel | Indiana Tech | Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference |
| Sarah Koker | Indiana Tech | Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference |
| Tyfane Martins | Madonna (Mich.) | Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference |
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