NEW ORLEANS, La.--- The Stan State women's cross country team remains No. 14 in the nation for the second consecutive week in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II national coaches' poll released Wednesday.
The Warriors, coached by Darren Holman, received 132 points in the latest poll and have maintained a top-15 national ranking throughout the 2026 season. Stan State began the year ranked No. 12 in the preseason poll and climbed as high as No. 11, holding that position or sharing it for three consecutive polls before moving to No. 14.
Stan State remains the second-highest-ranked team from the West Region behind No. 4 Chico State. Biola is tied for No. 15, followed by No. 21 Western Washington, No. 26 Central Washington and No. 28 Cal Poly Pomona.
The Warriors are one of three CCAA programs ranked among the nation's top 30, joining Chico State and Cal Poly Pomona.
Adams State received all eight first-place votes to remain No. 1 nationally, followed by Wingate, Colorado School of Mines, Chico State and Western Colorado.
Second in the West Region
Stan State also remains No. 2 in the latest USTFCCCA West Region rankings for the sixth consecutive week. Chico State continues to hold the top spot, followed by Stan State, Biola, Western Washington and Central Washington.
Coming Off Runner-Up Finish
The Warriors are coming off a second-place finish at the Bronco Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale. Stan State totaled 77 points in the 23-team Women's 6K Invitational, finishing behind only No. 4 Chico State, which captured the team title with 46 points.
Kekaihulali Halpern led Stan State with a sixth-place finish in 20:34.9, followed by Annie Wild in 12th (20:48.6) and freshman Natalie Arriaza in 17th (20:56.4). Izzy Soto placed 26th (21:11.2), while Stevie Holguin rounded out the scoring five in 27th (21:13.9).
The Warriors finished ahead of several NCAA Division I programs, including San Francisco, Santa Clara, Sacramento State, Fresno State and Cal Poly.
FloCollege/CCAA Runner of the Week Honors
Stan State sophomore Stevie Holguin, a native of Seal Beach, earned back-to-back FloCollege/CCAA Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week honors earlier this season following her performances at the season-opening University of San Francisco Invitational and the Kim Duyst Twilight.
Holguin earned her first honor after finishing sixth at the USF Invitational in 21:00.2 as the top non-Division I finisher. She followed with an individual victory at the Kim Duyst Twilight on Sept. 12, completing the 6K course in 20:41.4 to help lead Stan State to its second consecutive team championship.
With her consecutive selections, Holguin became the third CCAA women's runner in the past five years to earn back-to-back weekly honors, joining Cal State San Bernardino's Alexis Wallace (2022) and Cal Poly Pomona's Vivian Martinez (2025). She also became the first Stan State women's runner to earn multiple conference weekly honors in the same season since Kaela Dishion received three in 2022.
Rankings Schedule
The remaining USTFCCCA national coaches' polls are scheduled for Oct. 28, Nov. 11 and Nov. 26, with the final national poll scheduled for Dec. 5. The remaining West Region rankings are scheduled for Oct. 28, Nov. 10 and Nov. 25, with the final regional rankings scheduled for Dec. 4.
NCAA Championship Qualification
The top three teams at each NCAA Division II regional championship automatically qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships. An additional 10 teams nationwide receive at-large bids to complete the championship field. Each qualifying team may enter a maximum of seven runners at the national meet.
Individuals who are not members of qualifying teams can also advance to nationals. The top two individual finishers from nonqualifying teams at each regional automatically earn berths, along with any additional runners who finish among the top five overall and are not members of qualifying teams.
The full selection field for the 2026 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country National Championships will be announced on Monday, Nov. 23, on NCAA.com.
Up Next
Stan State will begin postseason competition at the CCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the CSUSB Cross Country Course in San Bernardino. The women's race is scheduled for 11 a.m.
The NCAA Division II West Regional will follow on Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, with the women's race scheduled for 10:15 a.m. The NCAA Division II National Championship is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4, at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas.
