2021 NJCAA DI Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – Championship fever is rising, especially in the latest NJCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Nowhere is the temperature higher than the cool trails in Idaho as the College of Southern Idaho remains the coaches’ near-unanimous selection as the nation’s best team.
Of course, everything will be settled on this year’s final course – the 2021 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships set for Saturday, November 13 at Pole Green Park near Richmond, Virginia.
NJCAA Division I — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Southern Idaho
Southern Idaho
2
Iowa Western CC
Iowa Western CC
3
Iowa Central CC
Iowa Central CC
4
Cloud County (Kan.) CC
Cloud County (Kan.) CC
5
Central Arizona
Central Arizona
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
College of Southern Idaho continued its impressive season, seeking its first national title. CSI’s resume gained strength with a fourth-place in the Inland Empire Championships, a respected meet with 4-year programs in the rugged northwest. Audrey Camp outdueled teammate Natalya Babcock, a previous National Athlete of the Week winner, for team honors as the Golden Eagles once again had a close-knit group of scorers with a 1-5 span of 31 seconds, just 2 seconds off their season’s best of 29 seconds.
Iowa Western CC maintained a razor-thin lead over in-state rival Iowa Central CC to settle this week’s No. 2 and No. 3 positions. The two respected programs haven’t met since mid-September, when the Reivers got the best of the Tritons in the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational. Both squads are led by athletes who’ve earned National Athlete of the Week honors in Iowa Western’s Mercy Biwott and Iowa Central’s Chloe Garcia Grafing.
Cloud County (Kan.) CC continued its move up in the poll to No. 4. The T-Birds won the Black Race at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open after a top-JUCO team finish at the Chile Pepper Festival. Melody Ochana regained team No. 1 honors by 0.6 seconds over Lucy Ndungu in the Fort Hays race.
Central Arizona remains at No. 5. The Vaqueras traveled to California for UC Riverside’s Highlander Invitational, where the reigining Arizona CC champions performed admirably among a myriad of four-year programs.
Leading the rest of the top-10 is No. 6 New Mexico JC, which earned the only No. 1 vote not given to CSI. Completing the top-10 are No. 7. Dodge City (Kan.) CC, No. 8 El Paso (Texas) CC, No. 9 Trinidad State (Colo.) JC and No. 10. Hutchinson (Kan.) CC. Defending national champion Ranger (Texas) is No. 11.
