2022 NJCAA DII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – There’s a new name at the top of the NJCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, as the Week 2 edition was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
NJCAA Division II — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
2
Lansing (Mich.) CC
Lansing (Mich.) CC
3
Heartland (Ill.) CC
Heartland (Ill.) CC
4
Cowley (Kan.)
Cowley (Kan.)
5
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Mesa (Ariz.) CC garnered nine of the 11 first-place votes to earn its first-ever No. 1 ranking in the NJCAA Division II women’s poll. The Thunderbirds – a top-10 program in NJCAA Division I in 2019 – won their own Mesa Jamboree last weekend. They’re led by Kate Brockman, who earned the season’s first M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week after winning the Vaquero CAMPY Invitational in early September. She was also runner-up at last year’s national championships.
Defending champion Lansing (Mich.) CC claimed two first-place votes and is No. 2. The Stars split their squad last weekend, taking fifth at the Oakland Raider Invitational the same as finishing runner-up to NCAA DI Michigan State at the Lansing Invitational. In five meets, the Stars have had four different No. 1 runners, with Barbara DeGood – who earned M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honors three weeks ago – leading the way twice.
Heartland (Ill.) CC moved up to No. 3, its highest since being No. 1 three times last year. The Hawks scored a perfect 15 in winning their own Heartland Invitational, with Taylor Joop leading the way.
Cowley (Kan.) is No. 4, down one place from the last poll. The 2020 national champions had an incomplete team at the Gans Creek Classic after a seventh-place finish at the Missouri Southern Stampede in mid-September.
No. 5 remains Wallace State (Ala.) CC. The Lions were edged 27-28 by Blue Mountain of the NAIA at the Topper Trails Classic.
Rounding out the top-10: No. 6 Grand Rapids (Mich.) CC, No. 7 Coconino (Ariz.) CC, No. 8 Pasco-Hernando State (Fla.), No. 9 Southwestern (Mich.) CC and No. 10 Southeastern (Iowa) CC. Coconino is led by Hayley Burns, this week’s M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week.
The 2022 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships are set for Saturday, November 12, at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.
