2024 NJCAA DI Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – No. 1 remained steady while the rest of the top-15 saw topsy-turvy conditions in the Week 2 edition of the 2024 NJCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
National Coaches’ Polls are presented by AthleticNET.
NJCAA Division I — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Salt Lake (Utah) CC
Salt Lake (Utah) CC
2
Iowa Central CC
Iowa Central CC
3
Southern Idaho
Southern Idaho
4
Crowder (Mo.)
Crowder (Mo.)
5
New Mexico JC
New Mexico JC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
For the third-straight poll, defending champion Salt Lake (Utah) CC is a unanimous No. 1. The Bruins made a late schedule change to jump in the UC Riverside Invitational two weeks ago and finished an impressive 12th among 24 four-year programs. Lindsie Fausett, the NJCAA DI Outdoor 10,000-meter champ in May, was Salt Lake’s top runner for the first time.
No. 2 is Iowa Central CC, now at their highest since being No. 1 in Week 5 of 2021. The Tritons were the top JUCO team at both the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational and Harter’s Habanero race at the Chile Pepper Festival. A pair of freshmen led the team both times – Abbi Hutchinson at Greeno/Dirksen, Yididiya Bifa at Chile Pepper.
Southern Idaho dropped to No. 3. The Golden Eagles – national champs in 2021 and 2022 – haven’t raced since the last poll.
Rising to a new program-best for the third-straight poll is Crowder (Mo.), now No. 4. The Roughriders were the top JUCO program at the Missouri Southern Stampede and behind only Iowa Central CC among NJCAA teams in the Harter’s Habanero race at the Chile Pepper Festival. Faith Jeptoo earned M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honors as Crowder’s top runner at Missouri Southern, while fellow freshman Pelisha Kosgei led the squad at Chile Pepper.
No. 5 New Mexico JC returns to the top-5 after starting No. 2 in the preseason poll. Runners-up the last two years at nationals, the T-Birds have run at home the last two weeks with freshman Amal Kachouri leading the team both times.
Completing the top-10: No. 6 Hutchinson (Kan.) CC, No. 7 Iowa Western CC, No. 8 Central Arizona, No. 9 Butler City (Kan.) CC and No. 10 Dodge City (Kan.) CC. Central Arizona is the biggest mover in the top-10, climbing six positions.
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.
