2023 NJCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Ranking – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – Only one change occurred in the latest NJCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
This is the final set of rankings before the 2023 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, which are set for Saturday, November 11, at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama.
NJCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Harper (Ill.)
Harper (Ill.)
2
Jefferson (Mo.)
Jefferson (Mo.)
3
Mineral Area (Mo.)
Mineral Area (Mo.)
4
DuPage (Ill.)
DuPage (Ill.)
5
Georgia Military
Georgia Military
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
The top-5, however, remained the same.
No. 1 and defending national champion Harper (Ill.) scored 19 points to win the Region 4 Championships. The Hawks were led by Lilly Alberts, who won the overall title (all divisions) by a whopping 1:53.1 in earning her fourth M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week award this year. Alberts was third in last year’s NJCAA DIII Championships.
First-year program Jefferson (Mo.) is No. 2. The Vikings won the Region 16 Championships with 26 points, edging No. 3 Mineral Area (Mo.) CC by three points. The runner-up Cardinals were led by winner Riley Petsch, with the Reagan Edwards of Jefferson second. Mineral Area was national runner-up last year (their best-ever national) by just one point to Harper.
No. 4 College of DuPage (Ill.) was second in the Region 4 Championships behind Harper. The Chaps were led by overall runner-up Carmen Solis. DuPage was fifth in last year’s national meet; their best-ever finish is third in 2021.
No. 5 Georgia Military scored 17 points to win the Region 17 Championships, led by individual champ Grace Houghton. The Bulldogs’ best finish in the NJCAA DIII Championships is fourth in 2020.
Rounding out the top-10 are No. 6 Suffolk County (N.Y.) CC, No. 7 Lorain County (Ohio) CC, No. 8 RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.), No. 9 FIT (N.Y.) and No. 10 Hudson Valley (N.Y.) CC.
