2024 NJCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1
NEW ORLEANS – Change was virtually everywhere in the Week 1 edition of the 2024 NJCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Indeed, 24 of the poll’s 25 programs have new positions from the preseason version.
National Coaches’ Polls are presented by AthleticNET.
NJCAA Division I — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Iowa Western CC
Iowa Western CC
2
Salt Lake (Utah) CC
Salt Lake (Utah) CC
3
Iowa Central CC
Iowa Central CC
4
Butler (Kan.) CC
Butler (Kan.) CC
5
El Paso (Texas) CC
El Paso (Texas) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Iowa Western CC is now in the No. 1 position, earning seven first-place votes. The Reivers have been idle since winning the Augie Twilight and taking second at Iowa’s Hawkeye Invitational. They are led by last week’s M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week, Geofrey Ronoh, who won the individual title in both races by 10.2 and 6.9 seconds, respectively.
Salt Lake (Utah) CC dropped a rung to No. 2 while collecting three first-place votes. The Bruins were runner-up to host BYU at the Autumn Classic with defending individual champion JaQuavious Harris finishing third overall, 10 seconds behind four-time NCAA DI All-American Casey Clinger of BYU.
Iowa Central CC moves up to No. 3, its highest since 2022, when they were runners-up after winning national titles the two years prior. The Tritons were the second JUCO squad behind Iowa Western at both the Augie Classic and Hawkeye Invitational, both times led by freshman Mohamed Dahmouch, who finished fourth and sixth, respectively.
Falling one spot to No. 4 is Butler (Kan.) CC. The Grizzlies haven’t raced since capturing the late-August Terry Masterson Twilight Classic, led by overall winner Emmanuel Otim, one of four freshmen in their top-5.
The biggest mover in the top-10 was El Paso (Texas) CC, climbing seven positions to No. 5. That’s the Tejanos’ highest appearance since being No. 3 in Week 4 of 2022. Freshman Wallace Kigen was their top runner at the New Mexico’s Lobo Invitational after soph Timothy Kiprotich opened up with team honors at the Lori Fitzgerald Memorial.
Completing the top-10 are No. 6 Crowder (Mo.), No. 7 New Mexico JC, No. 8 Colby (Kan.) CC and a tie at No. 9 among Hutchinson (Kan.) CC and Indian Hills CC. That’s a program-high rating for Crowder.
The season culminates on Saturday, November 9, when the 2024 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held at Pole Green Park near Richmond, Virginia.
