Iowa Central Men, Lansing (Mich.) Women Teams To Beat In NJCAA DI XC

Iowa Central Men, Lansing (Mich.) Women Teams To Beat In NJCAA DI XC

NEW ORLEANS — Last year at the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the Iowa Central men and Lansing (Mich.) women each rolled to a national title by a comfortable margin.

The Tritons, behind Andrew Ronoh (who is now at NCAA Division I Arkansas) and Cody Baele, outpointed Central Arizona 56-86 for their second consecutive NJCAA DI crown.

In the women’s race, the Stars used an incredibly tight spread of 38.9 seconds to upset pre-championship favorite Iowa Central. Lansing (Mich.) went 10-16-22-23-26 for a grand total of 92 points, which beat the runner-up Tritons by 43.

NATIONAL PDFs: National Summary | 2016 Week By Week | All-Time Week By Week
QUICK LINKS: Men’s National Coaches’ Poll | Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

Coaches who voted in the first NJCAA Division I National Coaches’ Poll of the season saw no reason to think it won’t happen again. In the poll, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the Iowa Central men and Lansing (Mich.) women owned the top spots of their respective polls.

In the Tritons’ case, it appears as if they reloaded with talent. After losing Baele and Ronoh, Iowa Central is poised to make a run at its fourth consecutive NJCAA DI crown and the coaches rewarded Dee Brown’s team with seven of 10 first-place votes.

For the Stars, they were young last year which bodes well for 2016. Lansing (Mich.) returns four of the five runners from its scoring lineup from 2015 including 10th-place finisher Kaitlin Beyer. The Stars were close to unanimous with eight of 10 nods.

Let’s go back to the men’s poll, where South Plains and Lansing (Mich.) hope to make life difficult for Iowa Central. South Plains and Lansing (Mich.) are ranked second and third and each received at least one first-place vote. At last year’s championships, the former placed third behind Central Arizona while the latter fell in the middle at 14th.

Four other big gainers in the men’s poll were Butler (Kan.), Highland (Kan.), Grand Rapids and Cowley County. Butler (Kan.) is fifth after finishing 11th at NJCAAs, Highland (Kan.) finished 33rd and is now 10th, while both Grand Rapids and Cowley County weren’t ranked at the end of last season and are now in the top-15.

Looking at the women’s poll, last year’s runner-up Iowa Central and Mesa CC settled in behind Lansing (Mich.). The Tritons are once again going to be led by Leanne Pompeani, who won the 2015 individual title by 28 seconds. The Thunderbirds kept the Stars from being unanimous as they stole the other two first-place votes and have top-15 finisher Adeline Montgomery back for her sophomore season.

Five teams went from outside the top-10 last year at NJCAAs to inside in Week 1: Cowley County (unranked to No. 6), Allen CC (12th to 7th), Vincennes (17th to 8th), Iowa Western (19th to 9th) and South Plains (14th to 10th).

There is a lot of racing left between now and November 12 when the best of the best in NJCAA Division I meet in El Dorado, Kansas for the 2016 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.

USTFCCCA NJCAA Division I

Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll

2016 Week #1 — September 14

next release: September 21
Rank Institution (FPV) Points Location Region Head Coach (Yr)
2015 FINAL
1 Iowa Central CC (7) 197 Fort Dodge, Iowa Midwest Dee Brown (13th)
1
2 South Plains (2) 187 Levelland, Texas West Chris Beene (13th)
3
3 Lansing CC (1) 174 Lansing, Mich. Great Lakes Jim Robinson (8th)
14
4 Gillette 162 Gillette, Wyo. Midwest Chris Kozlowski (9th)
5
5 Butler (Kan.) CC 149 El Dorado, Kan. Central Ryan Turner (3rd)
11
6 Louisburg 136 Louisburg, N.C. Atlantic Jay Koloseus (3rd)
8
7 Allen CC 135 Iola, Kan. Central Vince DeGrado (6th)
6
8 North Iowa Area CC 126 Mason City, Iowa Midwest Curtis Vais (13th)
12
9 Mesa CC 117 Mesa, Ariz. West Dan Pescador (2nd)
13
10 Highland (Kan.) CC 110 Highland, Kan. Central Chad Clevenger (7th)
33
11 Grand Rapids CC 97 Grand Rapids, Mich. Great Lakes Matt Sicilia (3rd)
NR
12 Glendale (Ariz.) CC 81 Glendale, Ariz. West Randy Espinoza (30th)
16
13 Iowa Western CC 74 Council Bluffs, Iowa Midwest Emmett Statzer (10th)
10
14 Cowley County CC 71 Arkansas City, Kan. Central Dan Adler (1st)
NR
15 Ranger 65 Ranger, Texas West Kathy Graham (2nd)
19
16 Muskegon CC 50 Muskegon, Mich. Great Lakes Dan Fishel (5th)
24
17 El Paso CC 40 El Paso, Texas West Felix Hinojosa (17th)
7
18 Vincennes 30 Vincennes, Ind. Great Lakes Chris Gafner (12th)
21
19 Johnson County CC 23 Overland Park, Kan. Central Mike Bloemker (19th)
NR
20 Trinidad State 21 Trinidad, Colo. West Lauren Martin (1st)
NR
21 Cloud County CC 18 Concordia, Kan. Central Harry Kitchener (40th)
NR
22 Danville Area CC 13 Danville, Ill. Great Lakes Kyle O’Brien (7th)
18
23 DuPage 12 Glen Ellyn, Ill. Midwest Matt Wilhite (8th)
31
24 Monroe 6 Bronx, N.Y. Atlantic Shirvon Greene (2nd)
34
25 Indian Hills CC 5 Ottumwa, Iowa Midwest Scott Barnes (3rd)
29
Also Receiving Votes: Hutchinson CC

 

USTFCCCA NJCAA Division I

Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll

2016 Week #1 — September 14

next release: September 21
1 Lansing CC (8) 198 Lansing, Mich. Great Lakes Jim Robinson (8th)
1
2 Iowa Central CC 185 Fort Dodge, Iowa Midwest Dee Brown (13th)
2
3 Mesa CC (2) 182 Mesa, Ariz. West Dan Pescador (2nd)
5
4 El Paso CC 161 El Paso, Texas West Felix Hinojosa (17th)
7
5 Gillette 160 Gillette, Wyo. Midwest Chris Kozlowski (9th)
4
6 Cowley County CC 149 Arkansas City, Kan. Central Dan Adler (1st)
NR
7 Allen CC 141 Iola, Kan. Central Vince DeGrado (6th)
12
8 Vincennes 115 Vincennes, Ind. Great Lakes Chris Gafner (12th)
17
9 Iowa Western CC 104 Council Bluffs, Iowa Midwest Emmett Statzer (10th)
19
10 South Plains 94 Levelland, Texas West Chris Beene (13th)
14
11 Dodge City CC 93 Dodge City, Kan. Central Cole Ballard (4th)
24
12 Butler (Kan.) CC 71 El Dorado, Kan. Central Ryan Turner (3rd)
10
13 Johnson County CC 68 Overland Park, Kan. Central Mike Bloemker (19th)
16
14 Cuyahoga CC 61 Cleveland, Ohio Great Lakes Don Cox (25th)
35
15 Trinidad State 50 Trinidad, Colo. West Lauren Martin (1st)
NR
16 Highland (Kan.) CC 43 Highland, Kan. Central Tom Bond (9th)
NR
17 Monroe 41 Bronx, N.Y. Atlantic Shirvon Greene (2nd)
15
18 DuPage 36 Glen Ellyn, Ill. Midwest Matt Wilhite (8th)
41
19 Ranger 32 Ranger, Texas West Kathy Graham (2nd)
23
20 Macomb CC 27 Warren, Mich. Great Lakes Kim Renas (4th)
13
21 North Iowa Area CC 20 Mason City, Iowa Midwest Curtis Vais (13th)
30
22 Spartanburg Methodist 15 Spartanburg, S.C. Atlantic Ken Roach (2nd)
NR
23 Colby (Kan.) CC 14 Colby, Kan. Central Crystal Bernett (10th)
NR
24 Muskegon CC 13 Muskegon, Mich. Great Lakes Dan Fishel (5th)
22
25 Louisburg 9 Louisburg, N.C. Atlantic Jay Koloseus (3rd)
18
Also Receiving Votes: Pima CC, Indian Hills CC, Carl Sandburg, NMMI, Mott CC

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USTFCCCA NCAA Division I
's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll

Preseason - October 21st

RANK TEAM & INFOPTS-1
FINAL


Week-by-Week Ranking

TeamPreseasonWeek #1Week #2Week #3Week #4
Iowa State11111
Oklahoma State33222
New Mexico22333
Virginia66444
Colorado1313555
Syracuse121211116
Northern Arizona141414137
BYU44668
Alabama1111888
Oregon910121410
Washington State2218232111
Wake Forest109101012
Michigan State3027171613
Butler1515131214
Wisconsin557715
Notre Dame889916
California Baptist1516151517
Tulane2523181718
Princeton1920222019
GeorgiaRVRV20
Harvard2425292821
MissouriRV201922
Air Force2324252323
North Carolina181916RV23
MichiganRVRVRVRV25
Ole Miss2725272426
Stanford67211827
Virginia TechRVRV27
Oklahoma29RVRVRV29
Georgetown2830282430
Tulsa26293027RV
Loyola-Chicago30RV
GonzagaRVRVRV
TexasRV
Texas A&MRV
Arkansas20211922
Eastern Kentucky17172626
Boise StateRVRVRV29
VillanovaRVRVRVRV
WyomingRVRVRV
MinnesotaRV
Utah StateRV
LouisvilleRV
Middle TennesseeRV
Washington212224
Furman3028RV
LipscombRV
PortlandRVRV
TennesseeRVRV
IonaRV
CharlotteRV
Weber StateRV

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Cross Country

2016 Rankings & Polls Calendar
Weeks Regional RankingsNational Coaches' Poll KEY DATES
PreseasonMon 8/29
MEN | WOMEN
Tue 8/30
MEN | WOMEN
Week 1Mon 9/12
MEN | WOMEN
Tue 9/13
MEN | WOMEN
Week 2Mon 9/19
MEN | WOMEN
Tue 9/20
MEN | WOMEN
Week 3Mon 9/26
MEN | WOMEN
Tue 9/27
MEN | WOMEN
Week 4Mon 10/3
MEN | WOMEN
Tue 10/4
MEN | WOMEN
Week 5Mon 10/17
MEN | WOMEN
Tue 10/18
MEN | WOMEN
Week 6Mon 10/31
MEN | WOMEN
Tue 11/1
MEN | WOMEN
Week 7Mon 11/14
MEN | WOMEN
FINAL Results
(official final ranking)
Fri 11/11
MEN | WOMEN
Sat 11/19
MEN | WOMEN