NEW ORLEANS, La.--- The Stan State women's cross country team moved up one position to No. 13 nationally 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 145 points in the latest poll, an increase of 13 points from last week. Stan State has been ranked among the nation's top 15 in every poll this season, beginning at No. 12 in the preseason rankings and climbing as high as No. 11.
After holding the No. 11 position or sharing it for three consecutive polls, the Warriors spent two weeks at No. 14 before moving up to No. 13 this week.
National Rankings
Stan State remains the second-highest-ranked team from the West Region behind No. 4 Chico State. Biola is No. 15, followed by No. 23 Western Washington, No. 26 Central Washington and No. 29 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 with 240 points. Wingate is second with 232 points, followed by Colorado School of Mines (224), Chico State (213) and Western Colorado (209).
Second in the West Region
Stan State also remains No. 2 in the latest USTFCCCA West Region rankings, a position the Warriors have held throughout the 2026 season.
Chico State continues to hold the top spot, followed by Stan State, Biola, Western Washington and Central Washington. Cal Poly Pomona is sixth, followed by Cal State Monterey Bay, Western Oregon, CUI and Northwest Nazarene.
Stan State is one of four CCAA programs ranked among the region's top 10, joining Chico State, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Monterey Bay.
Coming Off Runner-Up Finish
The Warriors closed the regular season with a second-place finish at the Bronco Invitational on 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 completed 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.
Stan State finished among the top two teams in all three regular-season meets, capturing the Kim Duyst Twilight team championship and placing second at both the USF Invitational and Bronco Invitational.
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 USF Invitational and Kim Duyst Twilight.
Holguin earned her first honor after finishing sixth at the season-opening USF Invitational on Sept. 4, completing the 6K course 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, clocking 20:41.4 to finish 3.5 seconds ahead of UC Santa Barbara's Jordin Lieberman and help lead the Warriors to their 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 Nov. 11 and Nov. 26, with the final national poll set for Dec. 5. The remaining West Region rankings are scheduled for Nov. 10 and Nov. 25, with the final regional rankings scheduled for Dec. 4.
Up Next
Stan State will begin postseason competition at the 2026 CCAA Cross Country Championships presented by Pollo Campero on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the CSUSB Cross Country Course in San Bernardino. The women's 6K 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 top three teams at each NCAA Division II regional championship automatically qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships, with an additional 10 teams selected at-large nationwide. The complete championship field will be announced Monday, Nov. 23, on NCAA.com.
The NCAA Division II National Championship is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4, at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas.
