Iowa Central Teams Extend Their Lead In NJCAA DI XC Polls
NEW ORLEANS — Iowa Central‘s men and women stepped up this past weekend and showcased their talent.
The rest of the teams in NJCAA Division I Cross Country are now playing catch up.
The Triton men and women received 19 of a possible 20 first-place votes in the most recent NJCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Polls that were released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Needless to say, Iowa Central’s teams are ranked No. 1 in each poll.
Lansing CC‘s women robbed the Tritons of being doubly unanimous, taking the remaining first-place vote.
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
Iowa Central traveled north to Ettrick, Wisconsin to participate in the Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational hosted by NCAA Division III UW-La Crosse. It was there that the Tritons would face several teams that were ranked in the last DIII polls.
What the Iowa Central men did was downright impressive. The Tritons nearly swept the meet as its runners went 1-2-3-4. Iowa Central’s fifth runner came in 13th, which left them with 23 points. Omer Almog picked up the individual win, while teammate Karim Achengli finished a game runner-up.
Iowa Central’s women didn’t have as great of a race as the men did, but more than held their own. The Tritons, led by who else but Leanne Pompeani, placed fifth behind several ranked DIII teams and DI Minnesota. Pompeani notched the win as she left 2015 DIII individual champ Abrah Masterson in the dust (26-second gap).
Lansing CC last competed at the Jayhawk Invitational hosted by Muskegon CC. The Stars finished a close runner-up (five points) in that meet to DI Michigan State, which ran its top runners at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational this past Friday.
The biggest movers in the men’s poll this week were Trinidad State JC, Cowley County CC and Colby (Kan.) CC, among others. The first went from No. 22 to No. 11. The second jumped from 18th to 12th and the third wasn’t ranked in Week 4 and is now 18th.
The most impressive jump in the women’s poll belonged to Monroe College. The Susan Ejore-led Mustangs rose from No. 21 to No. 12 this week, four points shy of getting into the top-10.
There are just two poll releases left before all of these teams converge on El Dorado, Kansas for the 2016 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
USTFCCCA NJCAA Division I |
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Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll |
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2016 Week #4 — October 19 |
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| next release: November 2 | ||||||
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Location | Region | Head Coach (Yr) |
Last
Week |
| 1 | Iowa Central CC (10) | 200 | Fort Dodge, Iowa | Midwest | Dee Brown (13th) |
1
|
| 2 | Central Arizona | 190 | Coolidge, Ariz. | West | Paul Tavares (17th) |
2
|
| 3 | South Plains | 176 | Levelland, Texas | West | Erik Vance (1st) |
3
|
| 4 | Butler (Kan.) CC | 158 | El Dorado, Kan. | Central | Ryan Turner (3rd) |
4
|
| 5 | Louisburg | 156 | Louisburg, N.C. | Atlantic | Jay Koloseus (3rd) |
6
|
| 6 | Gillette | 152 | Gillette, Wyo. | Midwest | Chris Kozlowski (9th) |
5
|
| 7 | Allen CC | 144 | Iola, Kan. | Central | Vince DeGrado (6th) |
7
|
| 8 | Lansing CC | 133 | Lansing, Mich. | Great Lakes | Jim Robinson (8th) |
8
|
| 9 | North Iowa Area CC | 113 | Mason City, Iowa | Midwest | Curtis Vais (13th) |
9
|
| 10 | Grand Rapids CC | 91 | Grand Rapids, Mich. | Great Lakes | Matt Sicilla (3rd) |
13
|
| 11 | Trinidad State JC | 88 | Trinidad, Colo. | West | Lauren Martin (1st) |
22
|
| 12 | Mesa CC | 68 | Mesa, Ariz. | West | Dan Pescador (2nd) |
10
|
| 12 | Cowley County CC | 68 | Arkansas City, Kan. | Central | Dan Adler (1st) |
18
|
| 14 | Vincennes | 67 | Vincennes, Ind. | Great Lakes | Chris Gafner (12th) |
14
|
| 15 | El Paso CC | 65 | El Paso, Texas | West | Felix Hinojosa (17th) |
11
|
| 16 | Highland (Kan.) CC | 53 | Highland, Kan. | Central | Chad Clevenger (7th) |
12
|
| 17 | Cloud County CC | 45 | Concordia, Kan. | Central | drew Mahin (4th) |
15
|
| 18 | Colby (Kan.) CC | 33 | Colby, Kan. | Central | Cameron Rieth (2nd) |
NR
|
| 19 | Glendale (Ariz.) CC | 20 | Glendale, Ariz. | West | Randy Espinoza (30th) |
16
|
| 20 | Paradise Valley CC | 15 | Phoenix, Ariz. | West | Dave Barney (21st) |
RV
|
| 20 | Iowa Western CC | 15 | Council Bluffs, Iowa | Midwest | Emmett Statzer (10th) |
21
|
| 22 | Muskegon CC | 14 | Muskegon, Mich. | Great Lakes | Dan Fishel (5th) |
20
|
| 23 | Hutchinson CC | 10 | Hutchinson, Kan. | Central | Justin Riggs (2nd) |
NR
|
| 24 | Ranger | 7 | Ranger, Texas | West | Kathy Graham (2nd) |
17
|
| 25 | Monroe | 4 | Bronx, N.Y. | Atlantic | Shirvon Greene (2nd) |
23
|
| 25 | Johnson County CC | 4 | Overland Park, Kan. | Central | Mike Bloemker (19th) |
RV
|
| 25 | Indian Hills CC | 4 | Ottumwa, Iowa | Midwest | Scott Barnes (3rd) |
RV
|
| 25 | Pima CC | 4 | Tucson, Ariz. | West | Greg Wenneborg (12th) |
19
|
| Also Receiving Votes: Danville CC, Meridian CC | ||||||
| Dropped Out: No. 24 Meridian CC, No. 25 Spartanburg Methodist | ||||||
USTFCCCA NJCAA Division I |
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Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll |
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2016 Week #4 — October 19 |
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| next release: November 2 | ||||||
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Location | Region | Head Coach (Yr*) |
Last
Week |
| 1 | Iowa Central CC (9) | 199 | Fort Dodge, Iowa | Midwest | Dee Brown (13th) |
1
|
| 2 | Lansing CC (1) | 185 | Lansing, Mich. | Great Lakes | Jim Robinson (8th) |
3
|
| 3 | Central Arizona | 179 | Coolidge, Ariz. | West | Paul Tavares (17th) |
3
|
| 4 | El Paso CC | 177 | El Paso, Texas | West | Felix Hinojosa (17th) |
2
|
| 5 | Mesa CC | 148 | Mesa, Ariz. | West | Dan Pescador (2nd) |
5
|
| 6 | Cowley County CC | 145 | Arkansas City, Kan. | Central | Dan Adler (1st) |
8
|
| 7 | Allen CC | 129 | Iola, Kan. | Central | Vince DeGrado (6th) |
9
|
| 8 | Vincennes | 127 | Vincennes, Ind. | Great Lakes | Chris Gafner (12th) |
7
|
| 9 | Gillette | 121 | Gillette, Wyo. | Midwest | Chris Kozlowski (9th) |
6
|
| 10 | Paradise Valley CC | 98 | Phoenix, Ariz. | West | Dave Barney (21st) |
10
|
| 11 | Colby (Kan.) CC | 96 | Colby, Kan. | Central | Cameron Rieth (2nd) |
14
|
| 12 | Monroe | 94 | Bronx, N.Y. | Atlantic | Shirvon Greene (2nd) |
21
|
| 13 | Cuyahoga CC | 83 | Cleveland, Ohio | Great Lakes | Don Cox (25th) |
12
|
| 14 | South Plains | 74 | Levelland, Texas | West | Erik Vance (1st) |
11
|
| 15 | Iowa Western CC | 43 | Council Bluffs, Iowa | Midwest | Emmett Statzer (10th) |
19
|
| 16 | Spartanburg Methodist | 42 | Spartanburg, S.C. | Atlantic | Ken Roach (2nd) |
18
|
| 17 | Dodge City CC | 38 | Dodge City, Kan. | Central | Cole Ballard (4th) |
17
|
| 18 | Johnson County CC | 34 | Overland Park, Kan. | Central | Mike Bloemker (19th) |
15
|
| 19 | Butler (Kan.) CC | 32 | El Dorado, Kan. | Central | Ryan Turner (3rd) |
12
|
| 20 | Macomb CC | 28 | Warren, Mich. | Great Lakes | Kim Renas (4th) |
16
|
| 21 | Trinidad State JC | 17 | Trinidad, Colo. | West | Lauren Martin (1st) |
24
|
| 22 | Louisburg | 4 | Louisburg, N.C. | Atlantic | Jay Koloseus (3rd) |
25
|
| 22 | Mott CC | 4 | Flint, Mich. | Great Lakes | Winston Stoody (10th) |
RV
|
| 24 | Ranger | 2 | Ranger, Texas | West | Kathy Graham (2nd) |
20
|
| 25 | DuPage | 1 | Glen Ellyn, Ill. | Midwest | Matt Wilhite (8th) |
NR
|
| Also Receiving Votes: (none) | ||||||
| Dropped Out: No. 21 Muskegon CC, No. 23 Barton County CC | ||||||
