USTFCCCA NJCAA Program of the Year – 2023 Final Update

NEW ORLEANS – A clean sweep.

New Mexico JC doubled its fun by being named the inaugural NJCAA Program of the Year for both men and women for the 2022-23 academic year.

The USTFCCCA Program of the Year Award honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution’s finish at the NJCAA Championships.

In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the NJCAA Championships. Scoring is based on the team’s finish at each NJCAA Championship in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points … 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award winner. Ties among schools split points for positions taken.

Men’s Story

New Mexico JC earned men’s top honors with 8 points, followed by Iowa Central CC with 14 and Colby (Kan.) CC with 15.5. Rounding out the top-5 were Iowa Western CC (21) and Butler (Kan.) CC (25).

The T-Birds were fifth in cross country before earning sharing the national titles in indoor track & field and outdoor track & field, both times with rival South Plains (Texas). The Tritons were second in cross country, fourth indoors and eighth outdoors. The Trojans won the cross country title, tied for seventh indoors and placed seventh outdoors.

The Reivers were 14^th in cross country, third indoors and fourth outdoors. The Grizzlies were 10^th in cross country, ninth indoors and sixth outdoors.

Women’s Story

New Mexico JC was even more dominant here, winning with 4 points – just one digit away from the Triple Crown. Cloud County (Kan.) CC was second with 13, with Mesa (Ariz.) CC third with 18. Rounding out the top-5 were Iowa Western CC (20) and Iowa Central CC (22.5).

The T-Birds of NMJC were second in cross country before winning titles at the indoor track & field and outdoor track & field championships. The T-Birds of Cloud County were ninth in cross country before finishing second indoors and outdoors. The Thunderbirds of Mesa were second in cross country, ninth indoors and seventh outdoors.

The Reivers were 10^th in cross country before matching fifth-place finishes indoors and outdoors. The Tritons were fifth in cross country, sixth indoors and tied for 11^th outdoors.