After finishing third at the NAIA National Championship last season, the NCU women's cross country team has been picked No. 1 in the preseason NAIA poll for 2015.

With six of their top seven runners returning, the NCU women's cross country team has been tabbed by the Cascade Collegiate Conference to win the CCC title again in a vote of league coaches.

Led by a championship performance from sophomore Alyssa Harmon, the Northwest Christian University women's cross country team took care of business last fall, winning NCU's first ever Cascade Collegiate Conference championship.

A legacy of excellence in women's distance running continued this year as four women earned All-American honors from the NAIA during the cross country and track & field seasons.

For programs young and old, records and milestones were accomplished to some extent by nearly every NCU team during the 2014-2015 year. Leading the way was a freshman runner and junior softball player.

The Women's Cross Country team earned Team of the Year honors at the 2014-2015 NCU Athletics Champions of Character Award Ceremony on Sunday night.