2023 NJCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Preseason

NEW ORLEANS – Welcome back to cross country at the NJCAA Division II level!

Led by defending champion Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC, perennially strong teams are among the leaders in the Preseason NJCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The final test will come on Saturday, November 11, when the 2023 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships are set to take place at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama.

NJCAA Division II — Men's Cross Country

This Week's National Top Five

1
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC

2
Lansing (Mich.) CC

3
Mesa (Ariz.) CC

4
Cowley (Kan.)

5
Daytona State (Fla.)

Cross Country Polls & Rankings

NATIONAL POLL

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Paradise Valley, which earned 10 of the 12 first-place votes, is No. 1 for a reason – the Pumas return five of seven from the squad that won last year’s title with 68 points. Two of those returners were among the top-3 freshmen in the field in Jonathan Barney (ninth) and Nathan Pestka (11^th).

Lansing (Mich.) CC starts the year No. 2. The Stars were No. 1 for much of last year before finishing third in the NJCAA DII Championships. Three returners include Michael Dennis (15^th) and Liam Elder (16^th).

No. 3 is Mesa (Ariz.) CC. The Thunderbirds return five runners from last year’s team, which gave Mesa a fourth-place finish for a second-straight year. Javier Garcia (18^th) is the their leading returner.

2021 champ Cowley (Kan.) is No. 4. Such is the Tigers’ reputation that they earned this ranking with only one returner from last year’s sixth-place team – Randy Rojas.

Daytona State (Fla.) is No. 5 and returns three scorers from last year’s seventh-place team, led by Jared Falchook (21^st). The Falcons were runner-up in 2021.

Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 1: No. 6 Heartland (Ill.) CC, No. 7 Wallace State (Ala.) CC, No. 8 NorthWest Arkansas CC, No. 9 North Iowa Area CC and No. 10 St. Clair County (Mich.) CC.