2023 NJCAA DII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 2

NEW ORLEANS – Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC was a unanimous No. 1 in the Week 2 NJCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which 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
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC
Heartland (Ill.) CC
Cowley (Kan.)
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
1
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC
2
Heartland (Ill.) CC
3
Cowley (Kan.)
4
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
5
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings

How do you top a No. 1? Being unanimous is a good start, and Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC matched their first-ever No. 1 in grand fashion with all 12 first-place votes. The Pumas narrowly won the Arizona CC Championships by 2 points, but that was over NJCAA DI No. 9 Central Arizona. PVCC had four top-10 finishers, led by freshman Keira Damon, who was overall runner-up.

Zooming up like a rocket to No. 2 was Heartland (Ill.) CC. This is not new altitude for the Hawks, who have rated top-5 in every poll since the DII rankings began in 2020. The Hawks won their own Heartland Invitational, with Addysen Clark leading three top-5 finishers.

Preseason No. 1 Cowley (Kan.) moved up three spots to No. 3. The Tigers were runner-up as the top JUCO team in the Prairie Fire Pepper race at Chile Pepper Festival as Dheniffer Vaz and Leticia Belo were nearly inseparable as top-10 finishers.

Mesa (Ariz.) CC is No. 4. The Thunderbirds – last year’s national runner-up – were third in the stiff all-division Arizona CC Championships, and they were led by M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week Carmella Baldwin, the overall winner by 25 seconds.

No. 5 is Wallace State (Ala.) CC. The Lions were runner-up at the Topper Trails Classic, with freshman Claire Deaton leading the team with a third-place finish.

Completing the top-10 teams are No. 6 Daytona State (Fla.), No. 7 Pasco-Hernando (Fla.), No. 8 Southeastern (Iowa) CC, No. 9 St. Clair County (Mich.) CC and No. 10 Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC.

The season culminates on Saturday, November 11, when the 2023 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will be held at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama.

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USTFCCCA NJCAA Division II
Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll

2023 Week 2 - October 4th

RANK TEAM & INFOPTSCHANGE
1 paradise-valley-ariz-cc PARADISE VALLEY (ARIZ.) CC
West Region
Region 1 (1)
David Barney (28th)
240
(12 fpv)
◀▶
(LW: 1)
2 heartland-ill-cc HEARTLAND (ILL.) CC
Midwest Region
Region 24
Ty Wolf (4th)
222 ▲ 3
(LW: 5)
3 cowley-kan COWLEY (KAN.)
Central Region
Region 6
Cameron Rieth (6th)
206 ▲ 3
(LW: 6)
4 mesa-ariz-cc MESA (ARIZ.) CC
West Region
Region 1 (3)
Dan Pescador (9th)
204 ▼ 2
(LW: 2)
5 wallace-state-hanceville-ala-cc WALLACE STATE-HANCEVILLE (ALA.) CC
Central Region
Region 22
Stan Narewski
203 ▼ 2
(LW: 3)
6 daytona-state-fla DAYTONA STATE (FLA.)
Atlantic Region
Region 8
Judy Wilson (6th)
183 ▼ 2
(LW: 4)
7 pasco-hernando-fla PASCO-HERNANDO (FLA.)
Atlantic Region
Region 8
Jacqueline Wachtel (17th)
168 ◀▶
(LW: 7)
8 southeastern-iowa-cc SOUTHEASTERN (IOWA) CC
Midwest Region
Region 11
Lucas Keifer (4th)
155 ▲ 1
(LW: 9)
9 st-clair-county-mich-cc ST. CLAIR COUNTY (MICH.) CC
Great Lakes Region
Region 12
Andrea Rheaume (2nd)
137 ▲ 2
(LW: 11)
10 des-moines-area-iowa-cc DES MOINES AREA (IOWA) CC
Midwest Region
Region 11
Michael Melchert (4th)
111 ▲ 7
(LW: 17)
11 shelton-state-ala-cc SHELTON STATE (ALA.) CC
Central Region
Region 22
Charles Tiller (1st)
108 ▲ 1
(LW: 12)
12 southwestern-michigan SOUTHWESTERN MICHIGAN
Great Lakes Region
Region 12
Zachary Sartori (3rd)
105 ▼ 2
(LW: 10)
13 lansing-mich-cc LANSING (MICH.) CC
Great Lakes Region
Region 12
Jim Robinson (15th)
100 ▼ 5
(LW: 8)
14 florida-gateway FLORIDA GATEWAY
Atlantic Region
Region 8
April Morse (6th)
95 ▲ 2
(LW: 16)
15 potomac-state-w-va POTOMAC STATE (W.VA.)
Great Lakes Region
Region 20
Chris Biser (2nd)
62 ▲ 3
(LW: 18)
16 coconino-ariz-cc COCONINO (ARIZ.) CC
West Region
Region 1 (5)
Craig Hunt
39
(LW: RV)
17 mott-mich-cc MOTT (MICH.) CC
Great Lakes Region
Region 12
Joe Dimambro (17th)
36
(LW: RV)
18 north-iowa-area-cc NORTH IOWA AREA CC
Midwest Region
Region 11
Steven Story (2nd)
29 ▲ 3
(LW: 21)
19 gadsden-state-ala-cc GADSDEN STATE (ALA.) CC
Central Region
Region 22
Roseanne Green (2nd)
26 ▲ 3
(LW: 22)
19 south-florida-state SOUTH FLORIDA STATE
Atlantic Region
Region 8
Cristi Bobo (5th)
26 ▼ 6
(LW: 13)
21 muskegon-mich-cc MUSKEGON (MICH.) CC
Great Lakes Region
Region 12
Nick Macinkowski (2nd)
19 ▼ 6
(LW: 15)
21 calhoun-ala-cc CALHOUN (ALA.) CC
Central Region
Region 22
Tiffany Bain (3rd)
19 ▼ 7
(LW: 14)
23 carl-sandburg-ill CARL SANDBURG (ILL.)
Midwest Region
Region 4
Rodney Blue (9th)
11 NR
24 harford-md-cc HARFORD (MD.) CC
Great Lakes Region
Region 20
Sean Wright (2nd)
9 ◀▶
(LW: 24)
25 college-of-central-florida COLLEGE OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
Atlantic Region
Region 8
Lauren Lumley (2nd)
4 ▼ 6
(LW: 19)

Also Receiving Votes: Westmoreland County 2, Kaskaskia (Ill.) 1

Dropped Out: No. 20 State Fair (Mo.), No. 23 Marion Military Institute (Ala.), No. 25 Westmoreland County



Week-by-Week Ranking

TeamPreseasonWeek #1Week #2Week #3Week #4FINAL
Cowley (Kan.)163311
Heartland (Ill.) CC352232
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC211123
Mesa (Ariz.) CC424544
Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC1710785
Daytona State (Fla.)546866
Pasco-Hernando (Fla.)97710107
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC735458
Southeastern (Iowa) CC898679
Florida Gateway161614151210
St. Clair County (Mich.) CC241199911
Southwestern Michigan111012131112
Mott (Mich.) CCRV17201413
Lansing (Mich.) CC6813161314
Shelton State (Ala.) CC1211181615
Potomac State (W.Va.)231815111516
Calhoun (Ala.) CC141421171817
Coconino (Ariz.) CC10RV16121918
North Iowa Area CC122118141719
South Florida State1319222020
Bismarck State (N.D.)21
Gadsden State (Ala.) CC202219192222
NorthWest Arkansas CC23
Florida State-Jacksonville24
Hawkeye (Iowa) CC25
Harford (Md.) CC242421RV26
Northeast Alabama CC27
Kaskaskia (Ill.)21RVRV28
State Fair (Mo.)212029
Waubonsee (Ill.) CC18RV30
Muskegon (Mich.) CC131521242531
Marion Military Institute (Ala.)2332
College of Central Florida1919252333
Roane State (Tenn.) CC34
Pensacola State (Fla.)35
Enterprise State (Ala.) CC36
Lake-Sumter State (Fla.)37
Sauk Valley (Ill.) CC38
Lake Michigan21
Grand Rapids (Mich.) CC1723
Macomb (Mich.) CC23
Carl Sandburg (Ill.)23
Westmoreland County1525RV

USTFCCCA NJCAA Division II Cross Country

2023 Rankings & Polls Calendar
Weeks National Coaches' Poll KEY DATES
PreseasonWed 9/6
MEN | WOMEN
Week 1Wed 9/20
MEN | WOMEN
Week 2Wed 10/4
MEN | WOMEN
Week 3Wed 10/18
MEN | WOMEN
Week 4Wed 11/1
MEN | WOMEN
FINAL Results
(official final ranking)
Sat 11/11
MEN | WOMEN