NJCAA DI XC Polls Simmer With Championship Saturday Nearing
NEW ORLEANS — If you’re a fan of NJCAA Division I Cross Country, you’ll be in Heaven these next two weeks.
For starters, there are two National Coaches’ Polls coming out the next two weeks. The first is this very one. The second is the pre-championship version on November 9.
Most importantly, the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships are in 10 days. This year’s installment will be held on November 12 in El Dorado, Kansas.
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
First things first, let’s take a look the most recent men’s and women’s polls that were released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Starting with the men’s poll, Iowa Central is still No. 1 with nine first-place votes. The Tritons have yet to relinquish the top spot, one they’ve held this entire season.
The other first-place vote went to Central Arizona, the consensus No. 2 team in all of the land. The Vaqueros have been ranked No. 2 since September 28.
Movement in the rankings happened a little further down where Allen (Kan.) CC went from No. 7 to No. 4, Vincennes (Ind.) jumped from No. 14 to No. 8 and Johnson County (Kan.) CC soared from No. 25 to No. 15. All three of those teams are now sitting at their best billing in program history.
How about the women’s poll?
Iowa Central is still No. 1 and has eight first-place votes to its name. The Tritons have looked strong all season and this is the seventh time in program history that they’ve topped the women’s ballot.
Defending national champion Lansing (Mich.) CC nabbed the rest of the first-place votes (two), solidifying its No. 2 spot.
Little else changed from Week 4, outside of Mesa (Ariz.) CC jumping two spots from No. 5 to No. 3. Three new teams joined the poll, however: No. 22 North Iowa Area CC and two squads tied for No. 23 (Pima (Ariz.) CC and Illinois Central).
Most of these teams will wrap up their regional championships this weekend and then it’s off to Kansas for the biggest race of the season.
USTFCCCA NJCAA Division I |
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Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll |
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2016 Week #5 — November 2 |
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| Next release: November 9 | ||||||
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | NJCAA | Region | Head Coach (Yr) |
Last
Week |
| 1 | Iowa Central CC (9) | 198 | Region XI | Midwest | Dee Brown (13th) |
1
|
| 2 | Central Arizona (1) | 188 | Region I | West | Paul Tavares (17th) |
2
|
| 3 | South Plains (Texas) | 182 | Region V | West | Erik Vance (1st) |
3
|
| 4 | Allen (Kan.) CC | 158 | Region VI | Central | Vince DeGrado (6th) |
7
|
| 5 | Gillette (Wyo.) | 153 | Region IX | West | Chris Kozlowski (9th) |
6
|
| 6 | Louisburg (N.C.) | 149 | Region X | Atlantic | Jay Koloseus (3rd) |
5
|
| 7 | Butler (Kan.) CC | 138 | Region VI | Central | Ryan Turner (3rd) |
4
|
| 8 | Vincennes (Ind.) | 121 | Region XII | Great Lakes | Chris Gafner (12th) |
14
|
| 9 | North Iowa Area CC | 118 | Region XI | Midwest | Curtis Vais (13th) |
9
|
| 10 | Lansing (Mich.) CC | 102 | Region XII | Great Lakes | Jim Robinson (8th) |
8
|
| 10 | Mesa (Ariz.) CC | 102 | Region I | West | Dan Pescador (2nd) |
12
|
| 12 | Trinidad State (Colo.) JC | 94 | Region IX | West | Lauren Martin (1st) |
11
|
| 13 | Grand Rapids (Mich.) CC | 76 | Region XII | Great Lakes | Matt Sicilla (3rd) |
10
|
| 14 | El Paso CC | 58 | Region V | West | Felix Hinojosa (17th) |
15
|
| 15 | Johnson County (Kan.) CC | 48 | Region VI | Central | Mike Bloemker (19th) |
25
|
| 16 | Glendale (Ariz.) CC | 43 | Region I | West | Randy Espinoza (30th) |
19
|
| 17 | Cloud County (Kan.) CC | 34 | Region VI | Central | Drew Mahin (4th) |
17
|
| 18 | Highland (Kan.) CC | 29 | Region VI | Central | Chad Clevenger (7th) |
16
|
| 19 | Cowley County (Kan.) CC | 23 | Region VI | Central | Dan Adler (1st) |
12
|
| 20 | Colby (Kan.) CC | 22 | Region VI | Central | Cameron Rieth (2nd) |
18
|
| 21 | Iowa Western CC | 21 | Region XI | Midwest | Emmett Statzer (10th) |
20
|
| 22 | Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC | 10 | Region I | West | Dave Barney (21st) |
20
|
| 22 | Muskegon (Mich.) CC | 10 | Region XII | Great Lakes | Dan Fishel (5th) |
22
|
| 24 | Monroe (N.Y.) | 9 | Region XV | Atlantic | Shirvon Greene (2nd) |
25
|
| 25 | Pima (Ariz.) CC | 7 | Region I | West | Greg Wenneborg (12th) |
25
|
| Also Receiving Votes: Ranger, Hutchinson, Danville | ||||||
| Dropped Out: No. 23 Hutchinson (Kan.) CC, No. 24 Ranger (Texas), No. 25 Indian Hills (Iowa) CC | ||||||
USTFCCCA NJCAA Division I |
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Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll |
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2016 Week #5 — November 2 |
||||||
| Next release: November 9 | ||||||
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | NJCAA | Region | Head Coach (Yr*) |
Last
Week |
| 1 | Iowa Central CC (8) | 198 | Region XI | Midwest | Dee Brown (13th) |
1
|
| 2 | Lansing (Mich.) CC (2) | 189 | Region XII | Great Lakes | Jim Robinson (8th) |
2
|
| 3 | Mesa (Ariz.) CC | 174 | Region I | West | Dan Pescador (2nd) |
5
|
| 4 | Central Arizona | 173 | Region I | West | Paul Tavares (17th) |
3
|
| 5 | El Paso CC | 163 | Region V | West | Felix Hinojosa (17th) |
4
|
| 6 | Cowley County (Kan.) CC | 145 | Region VI | Central | Dan Adler (1st) |
6
|
| 7 | Allen (Kan.) CC | 134 | Region VI | Central | Vince DeGrado (6th) |
7
|
| 8 | Vincennes (Ind.) | 126 | Region XII | Great Lakes | Chris Gafner (12th) |
8
|
| 9 | Gillette (Wyo.) | 125 | Region IX | West | Chris Kozlowski (9th) |
9
|
| 10 | Colby (Kan.) CC | 100 | Region VI | Central | Cameron Rieth (2nd) |
11
|
| 11 | Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC | 90 | Region I | West | Dave Barney (21st) |
10
|
| 12 | Cuyahoga (Ohio) CC | 87 | Region XII | Great Lakes | Don Cox (25th) |
13
|
| 13 | Monroe (N.Y.) | 83 | Region XV | Atlantic | Shirvon Greene (2nd) |
12
|
| 14 | South Plains (Texas) | 67 | Region V | West | Erik Vance (1st) |
14
|
| 15 | Iowa Western CC | 52 | Region XI | Midwest | Emmett Statzer (10th) |
15
|
| 16 | Dodge City (Kan.) CC | 48 | Region VI | Central | Cole Ballard (4th) |
17
|
| 17 | Butler (Kan.) CC | 35 | Region VI | Central | Ryan Turner (3rd) |
19
|
| 18 | Macomb (Mich.) CC | 33 | Region XII | Great Lakes | Kim Renas (4th) |
20
|
| 19 | Spartanburg Methodist (S.C.) | 31 | Region X | Atlantic | Ken Roach (2nd) |
16
|
| 20 | Johnson County (Kan.) CC | 20 | Region VI | Central | Mike Bloemker (19th) |
18
|
| 21 | Trinidad State (Colo.) JC | 10 | Region IX | West | Lauren Martin (1st) |
21
|
| 22 | North Iowa Area CC | 7 | Region XI | Midwest | Curtis Vais (13th) |
NR
|
| 23 | Illinois Central | 3 | Region XXIV | Great Lakes | Michael Lewellyn (6th) |
NR
|
| 25 | Louisburg (N.C.) | 2 | Region X | Atlantic | Jay Koloseus (3rd) |
22
|
| 25 | Mott (Mich.) CC | 2 | Region XII | Great Lakes | Winston Stoody (10th) |
22
|
| Also Receiving Votes: (none) | ||||||
| Dropped Out: No. 24 Ranger (Texas), No. 25 DuPage (Ill.) | ||||||
