Warriors earn first-ever pre-season NAIA ranking

August 23, 2007

Senior Danielle Jordan will be leading a core of seven returnees from last season's conference regular season champions, as the Warriors begin the season with their first-ever NAIA ranking. (Photo courtesy of Josh Randolph)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Corban’s women’s cross country program earned its first-ever National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ (NAIA) pre-season ranking when the coaches’ poll was released on Wednesday.

Coming off its first-ever Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) regular season title and a berth in the 2006 NAIA Championships, Corban finds itself tied with fellow national championship participant California State University-San Marcos for 29th in the nation.

Four-time defending NAIA champion and fellow NAIA Region I member Simon Fraser (B.C.) earned the nation’s top ranking thanks to 175 total points, while receiving four-out-of-six first-place votes. Concordia-Irvine (Calif.) earned the nation’s No. 2 ranking thanks to receiving the other two first-place votes en route to a total of 172 points.  Rounding out the top five are Cedarville (Ohio), Black Hills State (S.D.), and Milligan (Tenn.). The only other Cascade Collegiate Conference school to crack the nation’s top 30 was Eastern Oregon at 16th overall.

At the helm of the Warriors is fifth-year head coach and reigning conference women’s Coach of the Year, Norm Berney. Berney will look to the core of returnees from last season’s squad for leadership, as the Warriors have five-out-of-six runners back that competed in the 2006 NAIA Championships.

Leading the returnees are a pair of all-conference honorees in senior Danielle Jordan (Medford, Ore.) and sophomore Carli Moller (Vancouver, Wash.). The duo finished in the top 15 at the NAIA Region I Championships last season, as well as breaking into the top ten among CCC runners.

Along with Jordan and Moller, Coach Berney will look to senior co-captains Sara Aikin (Lebanon, Ore.) and Jill Nielsen (Baker City, Ore.) for leadership both on and off the course. Rounding out the core of returnees are a pair of NAIA Championship participants in senior Ashley Adams (Lebanon, Ore.) and sophomore Tera Stegner (Damascus, Ore.), along with sophomore Melissa Peterson (Cascade, Ore.).

During the off-season, Coach Berney hit the recruiting pavement hard and brought in seven freshman runners with Andrea Collins (Spangle, Wash.) leading the way for the newcomers.

Corban will begin the defense of its regular season conference crown on Saturday, September 8th, when the Warriors take part in the annual Lewis & Clark Invitational in Estacada beginning at 10:00 a.m.

For the complete pre-season ranking, visit http://naia.cstv.com/sports/w-xc/spec-rel/082207aab.html.