2021 NJCAA DI Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 5

NEW ORLEANS – The only top-5 change was a big one in the Pre-Championships edition of the 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).

The new No. 1 is Iowa Central CC, moving up from No. 3 and switching positions with season-long rankings leader College of Southern Idaho as regional championship competition provided plenty of resume building opportunities.

A season-high four teams earned first-place votes in the latest poll, which only adds to the anticipation for 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
Iowa Central CC
Iowa Western CC
Southern Idaho
Cloud County (Kan.) CC
Central Arizona
1
Iowa Central CC
2
Iowa Western CC
3
Southern Idaho
4
Cloud County (Kan.) CC
5
Central Arizona
Cross Country Polls & Rankings

No. 1 is new for this year’s Iowa Central CC squad. The Tritons were No. 1 all of last year but missed a chance for a fourth-straight national title due to COVID concerns within the program. Iowa Central earned five of the eight first-place votes in this poll after edging previous No. 2 Iowa Western to win the Region XI Championships. Chloe Garcia Grafing was individual runner-up for the Tritons.

Iowa Western CC is No. 2 for the fourth week in a row. The Reivers were just four points behind rival Iowa Central CC in the thrilling Region XI meet and were led by freshman Mercy Biwott, who won the individual title in dominating fashion by 42 seconds.

College of Southern Idaho is No. 3 and earned a first-place vote. The Golden Eagles, members of Region XVIII, competed in Region IX as guests and once again displayed impressive depth along with tightness. CSI’s top-5 span was 42.1 seconds and sported a top-7 gap of just 44.2 seconds. Brooke Reed was CSI’s third runner to be team leader this year, joining Audrey Camp and Natalya Babcock.

Cloud County (Kan.) CC also earned a first-place vote and remains No. 4 after winning the strong Region VI Championships over 10 programs which have been ranked at least once this season. The T-Birds were led by Ludjenie Mondesir, the squad’s third No. 1 runner this year along with Lucy Ndungu and Melody Ochana.

No. 5 Central Arizona had a perfect score of 15 points to win the Region I Championships. The Vaqueras were led by Beatrice Keditukei, who won the individual crown by 36 seconds.

The rest of top-10 had plenty of jostling, led by No. 6 El Paso (Texas) CC, No. 7 Trinidad State (Colo.) JC, No. 8 Dodge City (Kan.) CC, No. 9 New Mexico JC and No. 10 Hutchinson (Kan.) CC. Trinidad State was the fourth team in this week’s poll to receive a first-place vote.

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USTFCCCA NJCAA Division I
Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll

2021 Week 5 - November 3rd

RANK TEAM & INFOPTSCHANGE
1 iowa-central-cc IOWA CENTRAL CC
Midwest Region
Region 11 (1)
Dee Brown (18th)
98
(5 fpv)
▲ 2
(LW: 3)
2 iowa-western-cc IOWA WESTERN CC
Midwest Region
Region 11 (2)
Marc Bierbaum (4th)
93 ◀▶
(LW: 2)
3 southern-idaho SOUTHERN IDAHO
West Region
Region 18 (1)
Lindsey Anderson (5th)
89
(1 fpv)
▼ 2
(LW: 1)
4 cloud-county-kan-cc CLOUD COUNTY (KAN.) CC
Central Region
Region 6 (1)
Drew Mahin (9th)
83
(1 fpv)
◀▶
(LW: 4)
5 central-arizona CENTRAL ARIZONA
West Region
Region 1 (1)
Jonathon Harmon (11th)
75 ◀▶
(LW: 5)
7 trinidad-state-colo TRINIDAD STATE (COLO.)
West Region
Region 9 (1)
Lauren Masterson (6th)
73
(1 fpv)
▲ 2
(LW: 9)
6 el-paso-texas-cc EL PASO (TEXAS) CC
West Region
Region 5 (1)
Felix Hinojosa (22nd)
71 ▲ 2
(LW: 8)
8 dodge-city-kan-cc DODGE CITY (KAN.) CC
Central Region
Region 6 (2)
Cole Ballard (9th)
69 ▼ 1
(LW: 7)
9 new-mexico-jc NEW MEXICO JC
West Region
Region 5 (2)
Jeff Becker (9th)
65 ▼ 3
(LW: 6)
10 hutchinson-kan-cc HUTCHINSON (KAN.) CC
Central Region
Region 6 (3)
Justin Riggs (7th)
53 ◀▶
(LW: 10)
11 colby-kan-cc COLBY (KAN.) CC
Central Region
Region 6 (4)
Brady Johnson (3rd)
43 NR
12 monroe-new-rochelle-n-y MONROE-NEW ROCHELLE (N.Y.)
Atlantic Region
Region 15
Shirvon Greene (7th)
40 ▲ 4
(LW: 16)
13 western-texas WESTERN TEXAS
West Region
Region 5 (3)
James Williams (9th)
39 ◀▶
(LW: 13)
14 indian-hills-iowa-cc INDIAN HILLS (IOWA) CC
Midwest Region
Region 11
Brent Ewing (4th)
33 ◀▶
(LW: 14)
15 ranger-texas RANGER (TEXAS)
West Region
Region 5 (4)
Kathy Graham (7th)
32 ▼ 4
(LW: 11)
16 garden-city-kan-cc GARDEN CITY (KAN.) CC
Central Region
Region 6 (5)
Emmett Statzer (4th)
29 ▼ 1
(LW: 15)
17 nmmi NMMI
West Region
Region 5 (5)
22 ▲ 2
(LW: 19)
18 north-central-texas NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS
West Region
Region 5 (6)
21 ▼ 6
(LW: 12)
19 vincennes-ind VINCENNES (IND.)
Midwest Region
Region 24
Chris Gafner (4th)
9 ▼ 1
(LW: 18)
20 colorado-mountain COLORADO MOUNTAIN
West Region
Region 9 (2)
5 ▲ 4
(LW: 24)
21 jacksonville-texas JACKSONVILLE (TEXAS)
West Region
Region 14
Kirby Shepherd
4 ▼ 1
(LW: 20)
22 southern-nevada SOUTHERN NEVADA
West Region
Region 18
Bryan Astudillo (1st)
3 NR
23 south-plains-texas SOUTH PLAINS (TEXAS)
West Region
Region 5 (7)
Erik Vance (6th)
2 ▼ 6
(LW: 17)
24 essex-county-n-j ESSEX COUNTY (N.J.)
Atlantic Region
Region 19
Lionel Leach
1 NR
24 butler-kan-cc BUTLER (KAN.) CC
Central Region
Region 6 (2)
Mark Emerson (1st)
1 ▼ 2
(LW: 22)

Dropped Out: No. 21 Highland (Kan.) CC, No. 23 Fort Scott (Kan.) CC



Week-by-Week Ranking

TeamWeek #1Week #2Week #3Week #4Week #5FINAL
Southern Idaho111131
Cloud County (Kan.) CC496442
El Paso (Texas) CC88863
New Mexico JC264694
Iowa Western CC22225
Iowa Central CC33316
Trinidad State (Colo.)59977
Central Arizona45558
Dodge City (Kan.) CC277789
Colby (Kan.) CC1110
NMMI21191711
Hutchinson (Kan.) CC71212101012
Monroe-New Rochelle (N.Y.)11161213
Garden City (Kan.) CC61415151614
Indian Hills (Iowa) CC91717141415
North Central Texas71113121816
Vincennes (Ind.)1518181917
Essex County (N.J.)2418
Colorado Mountain2124242019
Jacksonville (Texas)111619202120
Butler (Kan.) CC121820222422
Highland (Kan.) CC1319212123
Western Texas513141313
Ranger (Texas)1010101115
Southern Nevada22
South Plains (Texas)161723
Fort Scott (Kan.) CC2323
Coffeyville (Kan.) CC1420

USTFCCCA NJCAA Division I Cross Country

2021 Rankings & Polls Calendar
Weeks National Coaches' Poll KEY DATES
Week 1Wed 9/8
MEN | WOMEN
Week 2Wed 9/22
MEN | WOMEN
Week 3Wed 10/6
MEN | WOMEN
Week 4Wed 10/20
MEN | WOMEN
Week 5Wed 11/3
MEN | WOMEN
Nov. 13: NJCAA DI Championships
(Richmond, Va.)
FINAL Results
(official final ranking)
Sat 11/13
MEN | WOMEN