2020 NJCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – The winds of change absolutely ripped through the NJCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll between Week 3 and Week 4.
That’s what happens when you have the biggest weekend of the regular season.
NJCAA Division II — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
North Iowa Area CC
North Iowa Area CC
2
Allen (Kan.) CC
Allen (Kan.) CC
3
Cowley (Kan.)
Cowley (Kan.)
4
Hawkeye (Iowa) CC
Hawkeye (Iowa) CC
5
Heartland (Ill.) CC
Heartland (Ill.) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Only two teams remained in place from the previous week and none of those were in the top-5. Speaking of which, North Iowa Area CC is back at No. 1, followed by No. 2 Allen (Kan.) CC, No. 3 Cowley (Kan.) CC, No. 4 Hawkeye (Iowa) CC and No. 5 Heartland (Ill.) CC.
It was a huge weekend for the Trojans as they finished third as a team at the Indian Hills CC Invitational this past weekend. Reigning National Athlete of the Week Melvin Kipkemboi led the charge for NIACC as he finished fourth overall with teammate Jorge Ruiz not too far behind in fifth. The Trojans were just one of two squads with two runners in the top-5 (NJCAA Division I No. 2 Iowa Western CC was the other).
The former No.1 Red Devils last competed at the NAIA Seminole Valley Stampede, where they finished sixth. Allen CC will return to the course next Wednesday at the NJCAA Region VI Championships.
Cowley (Kan.) CC impressed at the Bethel College Invitational this past weekend. The Tigers, led by individual runner-up Amos Pkiach, finished just two points behind Saint Mary (Kan.), a top-5 NAIA program. The Tigers had the lead through four runners, but couldn’t close the deal.
Former National Athlete of the Week Sam Mickelson paced Hawkeye (Iowa) CC to a sixth-place team finish at the Indian Hills Invitational. Mickelson ended up sixth individually and the RedTails had one other runner in the top-15 to support him (Harrison Vanderlinden, 14th).
Heartland (Ill.) CC won the Topper Town Invitational this past weekend with 29 points. The Hawks put their top-5 runners in the top-10 with Logan Johnson leading the way in fourth. Not too far behind Johnson were four other athletes in sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 4: No. 6 Daytona State (Fla.), No. 7 Wallace State (Ala.), No. 8 Grand Rapids (Mich.) CC, No. 9 Metropolitan (Mo.) CC, No. 10 Jackson (Mich.) CC.
