2023 NJCAA DI Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1
NEW ORLEANS – Salt Lake (Utah) CC strengthened its lead in the NJCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll as the Week 1 version was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
NJCAA Division I — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Salt Lake (Utah) CC
Salt Lake (Utah) CC
2
Colby (Kan.) CC
Colby (Kan.) CC
3
New Mexico JC
New Mexico JC
4
Iowa Western CC
Iowa Western CC
5
Southern Idaho
Southern Idaho
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Salt Lake (Utah) CC garnered all but one of the first-place votes available as the second-year program repeated its first-ever No. 1 ranking from the Preseason poll. The Bruins have had two different No. 1 runners this year, with freshman Emerald Kehr leading the way most recently with a 12th-place finish at the BYU Alumni Classic. Grace Tipton was the squad’s top runner a week earlier at the Utah Valley Invitational, and both times the Bruins had tight 1-5 gaps (38.2 and 52.9 seconds).
Colby (Kan.) CC was this poll’s biggest mover, climbing nine positions to No. 2 in matching its program-high from Week 3 of 2020. The Trojans were 13th as the top JUCO team at the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational, with a top-3 of Elif Poyraz, Tara Bert and Rosemary Arthur running within 7 seconds of each other.
New Mexico JC dropped a rung to No. 3. The T-Birds continue to be led by Damaris Chewon, whose most recent race was finishing seventh as the leading JUCO runner at the Texas Tech Open.
Remaining No. 4 – and capturing a first-place vote – is Iowa Western CC as the Reivers continue at their highest ranking since being No. 2 in Week 5 of 2021. Iowa Western has yet to field a scoring five and were led by freshman Ayianna Olivas at the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational.
Dropping two spots to No. 5 is two-time defending champion College of Southern Idaho. The Golden Eagles have twice been led by Elizabeth Phillips, most recently with a 4th-place finish at the Cascade Conference Preview.
Completing the top-10 are No. 6 Hutchinson (Kan.) CC, No. 7 Butler (Kan.) CC, No. 8 Dodge City (Kan.) CC, No. 9 Central Arizona and No. 10 Cloud County (Kan.) CC.
The season culminates on Saturday, November 11, when the 2023 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama.
