2017 NJCAA DI Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll — Week 3

NEW ORLEANS – We are now midway through the 2017 NJCAA Division I Cross Country season, and things are beginning to take shape in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Coaches Poll.

Iowa Central CC remains the team to beat in both the men’s and women’s poll, as the Tritons continued to hold onto the top ranking in the nation. On the men’s side, there was very minimal change under the leader, while there was a bit of a shakeup near the top part of the women’s rankings as spots two through six saw movement on the women’s side.

QUICK LINKS: Men’s Poll | Women’s Poll
NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL – SUMMARY PDF
NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL – 2017 Week By Week
NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL – All-Time Week By Week

For those who are new or need a refresher, the NJCAA Division I Cross Country National Coaches’ Polls are voted on by 10 coaches from around the nation. Points are assigned to each spot in the poll and the team with the most points is No. 1, followed by the second most and so on and so forth.

The 2017 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held Saturday, November 11 in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Men’s Story

The Tritons notched its third-straight week on top of the rankings after picking up a huge win at the UW La Crosse Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational this past weekend, where four of its runners finished within the top-eight. Iowa Central CC earned eight first-place votes in the rankings on the week.

Central Arizona and South Plains (Texas) are second and third, respectively, once again, and each program garnered one first-place vote apiece.

Paradise Valley (Ariz.), Allen (Kan.) CC and Louisburg (N.C.) rounded out the top-six for the second-consecutive week.

Below the aforementioned programs is where things got interesting.

Colby (Kan.) CC made a seven-spot leap into 10th place this week. The Trojans posted a runner-up finish to Allen (Kan.) CC at the Fort Hays State Open back on Oct. 7, with Oscar Leyva and Emmanuel Kipngetich finishing 1-2 for the program, helping the team achieve its highest ranking ever.

Lansing (Mich.) CC returned to seventh place this week after a brief move to eighth in the last polls, while Vincennes (Ind.) also moved up a spot in the polls to ninth. Rounding out the top-10 was Mesa (Ariz.) CC, who slipped one spot to eighth.

Women’s Story

Like its male counterpart, Iowa Central CC is the team to beat in the women’s rankings. Adva Cohen won the UW La Crosse Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational to help lead the Tritons to a team title. Two other runners finished inside of the top-10.

But that’s where the similarities in the men’s and women’s rankings end. A slew of changes took place underneath the Tritons on the week.

Cowley County (Kan.) CC reclaimed the second spot in the rankings after a strong outing at the Fort Hays State Open. Joining the Tigers in making positive movement in the top-six were Central Arizona and Lansing (Mich.) CC, who each moved up one spot to fourth and fifth, respectively.

Vincennes (Ind.) was the only other program in the top-10 to move up on the week, tying a stagnant Colby (Kan.) CC for eighth place. Southern Idaho also stood its ground, coming in at seventh for the second-consecutive week.

Dropping in the top-10 were El Paso CC (second to third), Allen (Kan.) CC (third to sixth) and Butler (Kan.) CC (t-ninth to tenth).