2021 NJCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 3
NEW ORLEANS – A new challenger emerged in the Week 3 NJCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
While Cowley (Kan.) remained a unanimous No. 1 selection among the coaches, Mesa (Ariz.) CC zoomed all the way up to No. 2.
The 2021 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships are set for Saturday, November 13, at Pole Green Park in Richmond, Virginia.
NJCAA Division II — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Cowley (Kan.)
Cowley (Kan.)
2
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
3
Heartland (Ill.) CC
Heartland (Ill.) CC
4
Daytona State (Fla.)
Daytona State (Fla.)
5
Lansing (Mich.) CC
Lansing (Mich.) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Cowley (Kan.) remains a unanimous No. 1 after an impressive showing in the Chile Pepper Festival. The Tigers were the second JUCO program in the John McDonnell Memorial race, placing ahead of NJCAA Division-I highly ranked Cloud County (Kan.) CC and Iowa Western CC. Cowley continues to be led by Adrian Diaz-Lopez and Amos Pkiach, two of five scorers who return from last year’s third-place team. The duo went 2-3 in last year’s NJCAA Division II Championships.
History keeps being made at Mesa (Ariz.) CC. The Thunderbirds enjoyed the program’s first Arizona CC Conference team crown along with its first individual title when Caden Resendez crossed the finish line first. Resendez earned the team’s first National Athlete of the Week honors on Monday and today the Thunderbirds now have their highest ranking in school history at No. 2.
No. 3 is Heartland (Ill.) CC, which won its own Heartland Invitational over five other ranked teams in NJCAA Division II or Division III. Freshman Jesse Golden was the Hawks top runner as Heartland place its five scorers in the top-9.
Daytona State (Fla.) CC remains at No. 4. The Falcons were the top JUCO team in the NCAA Division II Pre-National Invitational, finishing in 8th. Andy Martinez, fourth in last year’s NJCAA Division II Championships, continues to be Daytona’s top runner.
Lansing (Mich.) CC maintains the No. 5 spot. The Stars were second in their own Lansing Invitational by eight points to previous No. 4 Grand Rapids (Mich.) CC. Erik Reiber, who finished fourth this past weekend, has been Lansing CC’s top individual.
Rounding out top-10 are No. 6 Grand Rapids (Mich.) CC, No. 7 Carl Sandburg (Ill.), No. 8 Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC, No. 9 North Iowa Area CC and No. 10 St. Clair County (Mich.) CC. North Iowa Area is the defending NJCAA Division II champions.
