2020 NJCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 5
NEW ORLEANS – If the NJCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll has any bearing on what will happen on November 14 at the 2020 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, it’s going to be a dogfight for the team title.
Cowley College and North Iowa Area CC traded places in the top-5 as the former is now No. 1 and the latter slid to No. 2. The top-ranked Tigers own 10 first-place votes, compared to the remaining two for the Trojans, who were ranked No. 1 in Week 1 and Week 4.
NJCAA Division II — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Cowley (Kan.)
Cowley (Kan.)
2
North Iowa Area CC
North Iowa Area CC
3
Allen (Kan.) CC
Allen (Kan.) CC
4
Hawkeye (Iowa) CC
Hawkeye (Iowa) CC
5
Daytona State (Fla.)
Daytona State (Fla.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Why did Cowley College storm into the lead? That’s easy to find out once you look at the results from the Region VI Championships this past weekend. It was in El Dorado, Kansas, where the Tigers weren’t just the top NJCAA DII program – but the top NJCAA program, period. Cowley College put two runners in the top-5 and all scorers in the top-20 to win the overall region title against four teams that were ranked in the top-10 of the NJCAA DI National Coaches’ Polls.
North Iowa Area CC, led by former National Athlete of the Week Melvin Kipkemboi and Jorge Ruiz, snagged the NJCAA DII regional crown at the Region XI Championships. The Trojans easily defeated Hawkeye CC by a score of 19-40. If the meet was scored out across all divisions, North Iowa Area CC would have finished a close third behind Iowa Western CC.
No. 3 Allen CC is also expected to contend for the national title. The Red Devils ran well all season long and fought valiantly at the Region VI Championships. Allen CC was one of four teams with three or more athletes in the top-20 (Brig Merritt led the way in eighth place), as the squad finished second among NJCAA DII programs and fourth overall.
There is a clear break between the other top-5 programs: No. 4 Hawkeye CC and Region VIII champion No. 5 Daytona State College. Both the RedTails and the Falcons will be paced by former National Athletes of the Week. Three-time honoree Sam Mickelson is Hawkeye CC’s top runner, while Andy Martinez has been at the front of the pack for Daytona State.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 5: No. 6 Wallace State, No. 7 Heartland CC, No. 8 Grand Rapids CC, No. 9 Lake Sumter State and No. 10 Jackson College.
