Women's Cross Country NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll
Kansas City, Missouri - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the 2025 Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Saints, who finished 18th at the 2024 NAIA Women's National Championships, find themselves slotted at #17 to start the season.
Mike Wojciakowski, who begins his 28th season leading the Saints, will look to some seasoned veterans and a cast of newcomers to lead the Saints in 2025. Aquinas, who returns five of their top seven from last fall, will feature four returners who garnered All-WHAC accolades last season. Madison Rempalski and Amber Koole were both First Team All-WHAC, while Lauren Wooer and Ella Koons collected Second Team honors. In addition, upperclassmen Cadence Schultz, Noelle House and Katrina Amrhein have come into camp in great shape and have assumed their leadership roles within the team. Aquinas also will sport an additional four freshman and two transfers who will be lacing up the spikes for AQ for the first time this fall.
Amrhein stated, ""Last fall, our team proved they can show up when it matters at nationals. We went into last year's cross country nationals ranked 24th and came out in 18th. That performance carried into the winter and spring track season, where the team's depth and talent continued to shine. Our girls grew in confidence and were able to push each other to times many had never run before. I'm excited to see where our girls can push each other to this year. We are already looking stronger at this point than we have in past seasons, and that's really exciting to see. The energy at practice and the way everyone is raising the bar for each other makes me confident that big things are ahead. As long as we work together, I believe this group of girls have a promising season ahead of them."
The Saints, who are looking to claim their first WHAC title since 2020, finished second in 2024 and find themselves slightly below one other WHAC schools in the preseason rankings. Cornerstone sits at #15, while the Warriors of Indiana Tech are receiving votes.
Aquinas' assistant coach Nick Thelen commented, "This group returns nearly all of our key members who helped us emerge on the national stage last year, and the addition of our freshmen and transfers will give us extra depth we haven't had in recent years. This is a group ready to elevate our program and we are excited to build throughout the season."
Aquinas will open their season on September 13th at the Calvin University Diemer Classic in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
