2023 NJCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – New Mexico JC and Trinidad State (Colo.) have created quite a battle.
The eight first-place votes in the latest NJCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll were split 4-4, with New Mexico JC inching ahead of Trinidad State in a super-close balloting of coaches released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
NJCAA Division I — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
New Mexico JC
New Mexico JC
2
Trinidad State (Colo.)
Trinidad State (Colo.)
3
Colby (Kan.) CC
Colby (Kan.) CC
3
Salt Lake (Utah) CC
Salt Lake (Utah) CC
5
Iowa Western CC
Iowa Western CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
New Mexico JC is No. 1 for the first time since Week 1 of 2021. The T-Birds aim for a national title that would be their first since 1979, back when the NJCAA competed as a single division. NMJC won their invitational a week ago with relative ease as brothers Tomas and German Vega went 1-2, with Tomas upping his seasonal edge on German to 3-1 (German was 5-2 last year).
Trinidad State (Colo.) was last poll’s No. 1 and performed admirably in the Chile Pepper Festival’s top-level race, finishing ninth in the McDonnell Memorial 8k. The Trojans were led by Kidus Misgina, who earned M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honors with a third-place finish.
There’s a tie at No. 3 among Colby (Kan.) CC and Salt Lake (Utah) CC, adding more intrigue to this year’s competition.
Salt Lake – a program in just its second year – is improving its all-time best ranking for a third-straight poll. The Bruins were behind a pair four-year schools – NCAA DII top-20 ranked Chico State and Cal Poly Pomona – in taking third at the Cougar Challenge at Cal State San Marcos. Top runner Talon Rodriguez earned M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honors, and teammate Wyatt Wingard was close behind.
Defending NJCAA DI champion Colby won the Open Division at the Gans Creek Invitational, with Kgadi Monyebodi – a previous M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honoree – winning individual honors and leading three Trojans in the top-10.
No. 5 is Iowa Western CC. The Reivers were the second JUCO squad at the Gans Creek Classic as Mohammed Kowa and Jacinto Gaspar finished individually in the top-10 among predominantly four-year programs.
Rounding out the top-10 are No. 6 Central Arizona, No. 7 Indian Hills (Iowa) CC, No. 8 Northwest Kansas Tech, No. 9 College of Southern Idaho and No. 10 Iowa Central 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.
