KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Montreat College men's cross country team earned its 44th consecutive appearance in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25. In the latest rankings, which were released late Tuesday afternoon, the Cavaliers received 97 points to rank 26th nationally. With the placing, Montreat secured an at-large bid to the 2026 NAIA Men's Cross Country Championship, marking the program's ninth consecutive appearance at the national meet.
The Cavs garnered 97 points in the voting process, trailing Taylor (Ind.) to finish 20 points shy of the top 25, while holding an eight-point advantage over Northwest (Wash.).
Montreat is coming off a runner-up finish at the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Cross Country Championships on Nov. 6 in Knoxville, Tenn. The Cavaliers totaled 48 points to claim second place in the conference meet.
Ryan Stade led the way for the Cavs, capturing the individual title in a personal-best time of 24:15.63. With the victory, Stade became the first Montreat men's cross country student-athlete to win two AAC individual championships. Angel Cruz added a seventh-place finish, earning First-Team All-AAC recognition alongside Stade while also collecting the conference's Freshman of the Year award. Elijah Eppley and Ronald Way received Second-Team All-AAC honors, while Cruz and Johann Brink earned spots on the AAC All-Freshman Team.
For the complete 2026 NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25, click here. For the NAIA Men's Cross Country Championship qualifiers release, click here.
The Cavaliers will now turn their attention to the 2026 NAIA Men's Cross Country Championship on Nov. 20 in Vancouver, Wash. The men's championship race is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT.
