Women's Cross Country Picked Fifth in Preseason Poll

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Northwestern women's cross country team has been picked fifth in the GPAC preseason coaches' poll, the league office announced this morning.

Voted on by the league's head coaches, the Raiders were picked fifth with 78 points. Coaches could not vote for their own team.

Dordt was picked first with 121 points and 11 of the 12 first-place votes. College of Saint Mary received the other first-place vote, while Doane and Concordia rounded out the top four.

The Raiders finished sixth at last year's GPAC Championships with 147 points. Their top performance of 2024 came at the Mount Marty Invite, where they posted a season-best 54 points for a second-place finish. Among last year's GPAC scorers, Northwestern returns Allie Hough, Macy Schroeder, Brielle Engelmann, and Brooklyn Fryar. Also returning to the roster is two-time NAIA Championships qualifier Emily DeGroot, who last competed in cross country in the 2023 season.

Below are the full results of the preseason coaches' poll.

Place	Team	Points	1st Place Votes
1	Dordt Defenders	121	11
2	College of Saint Mary Flames	104	1
3	Doane Tigers	103
4	Concordia Bulldogs	93
5	Northwestern Red Raiders	78
6	Morningside Mustangs	74
7	Hastings Broncos	60
8	Midland Warriors	50
9	Mount Marty Lancers	44
10	Waldorf Warriors	32
11	Briar Cliff Chargers	17
12	Dakota Wesleyan	16

Northwestern will open its season under the lights on September 5 at the Augustana Twilight.

Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut

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Players Mentioned

Brielle Engelmann: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Allie Hough: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Brooklyn Fryar: 5' 7"; Freshman

Macy Schroeder: 5' 1"; Freshman

Emily DeGroot: 5' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Brielle Engelmann
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Allie Hough
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Brooklyn Fryar
: 5' 7"; Freshman

Macy Schroeder
: 5' 1"; Freshman

Emily DeGroot
: 5' 5"; Junior