New No. 1 Emerges in Active NJCAA DI National Coaches’ Polls

NEW ORLEANS – With the countdown to the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on November 14 in Fort Dodge, Iowa, now diminished to just one month, there still remained significant shuffling in the latest National Coaches’ Polls announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Both genders’ polls were volatile this week, with the women’s top-25 especially so as a new team ascended to No. 1, 24 of 25 teams checked in at a different rank than a week ago and a team entirely new to the poll moved into the top-10.

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The duo of Iowa Central CC and Lansing CC ascended to the women’s poll’s top two spots, displacing former top-ranked Central Arizona to No. 3 in the country. The Tritons received six of the poll’s 10 first-place votes to join their male teammates atop the Coaches’ Polls, with two first-place nods apiece going to Lansing and Central Arizona.

Iowa Central was idle this past weekend after a strong showing at the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival two weekends ago. Multiple-time National Athlete of the Week Leanne Pompeani was seventh overall in the race for the Tritons.

Lansing is coming off a win at its home invitational, while Central Arizona is coming off a dual-meet loss to NCAA DI Arizona.

No. 4 Pima CC jumped five spots since the previous poll two weeks ago, followed by No. 5 Mesa CC and No. 6 Butler (Kan.).

No team made a bigger impression over the past two weeks than Monroe College, which went from unranked to No. 7.

No. 8 El Paso CC, No. 9 Barton County CC and No. 10 Allen County CC rounded out the top 10.

Iowa Central’s men retained their No. 1 rank with seven of the 10 first-place votes, followed by a new No. 2 team in South Plains College. The Texans, recipients of the final three top votes, won impressively at New Mexico Junior College behind a dominant performance from national title contender Hassan Abdi.

Dropping one spot to No. 3 was Central Arizona. Paradise Valley CC and Allen County CC remained steady from two weeks ago.

Only two teams in the poll made bigger jumps than No. 6 Louisburg, which improved six positions from a week ago. Those teams were No. 12 Barton County CC (10-spot improvement) and No. 17 Hutchinson CC (seven-spot improvement).

Rounding out the top 10 were No. 7 El Paso CC, No. 8 Butler (Kan.), No. 9 Iowa Western CC and No. 10 Gillette.

Joining the polls this week were the men of No. 21 Johnson County CC, No. 23 Monroe College and No. 24 Vincennes; and the women of No. 11 Louisburg, No. 15 Paradise Valley CC, and No. 25 Glendale CC (Ariz.).

The NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held Saturday, November 14 at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa.