2024 NJCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 3
NEW ORLEANS – Four programs received at least one first-place vote in the Week 3 edition of the 2024 NJCAA Division II Men’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 II — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
2
Lansing (Mich.) CC
Lansing (Mich.) CC
3
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC
4
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
5
Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC
Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Mesa (Ariz.) CC continues at No. 1, earning six of the 12 first-place votes. The Thunderbirds were the leading NJCAA DII program at the CAMPY Invitational a week ago, with Cal Schnepf leading the team for the first time.
Moving up for the fourth-straight poll is defending champion Lansing (Mich.) CC, now No. 2 while collecting four first-place votes. The Stars won the Muskegon Jayhawk Invitational a week after an impressive 16th-place among 30 four-year schools in the Live in Lou Classic’s Blue Division. A pair of Lansing freshmen – Jesse Carson at Muskegon, Logan Zahn at Live in Lou – split time with team honors as well as being the last two M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week.
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC dropped a notch to No. 3 and earned one first-place vote. The Pumas have not competed the last two weeks.
Climbing up to No. 4 is Wallace State (Ala.) CC in receiving the final first-place votes. The Lions were 12th as the only JUCO squad in the Royals Challenge as Luke Kennedy continues to lead the team.
Also rising up a spot is Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC to No. 5, it highest-ever showing. The Bears won the Indian Hills Invitational on the same course in Ottumwa, Iowa, that will host the upcoming Region 11 and ICCAC Championships. Jordan King’s third-place finish (tops among NJCAA DII runners) leg all five DMACC scorers in the top-10.
Rounding out the top-10 teams are No. 6 Daytona State (Fla.), No. 7 Cowley (Kan.), No. 8 Bismarck State (N.D.), No. 9 NorthWest Arkansas CC and No. 10 Southeastern (Iowa) CC.
There’s just over three weeks until the 2024 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday, November 9, at Pole Green Park near Richmond, Virginia.
