2024 NJCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Ranking – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – A trio of Region 4 powers have a different order at the top of the Week 2 edition of the 2024 NJCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Ranking, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
National Coaches’ Rankings are presented by AthleticNET.
NJCAA Division III — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Harper (Ill.)
Harper (Ill.)
2
DuPage (Ill.)
DuPage (Ill.)
3
Joliet (Ill.) JC
Joliet (Ill.) JC
4
Kellogg (Mich.) CC
Kellogg (Mich.) CC
5
Mineral Area (Mo.)
Mineral Area (Mo.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Defending champ Harper (Ill.) is back at No. 1. The Hawks were dominant in winning the Heartland (Ill.) CC Invitational with 29 points, placing six runners in the top-10 led by victor Owen Whelan, who is now a three-time M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week winner.
DuPage (Ill.) drops to No. 2 after a week of non-racing. The Chaps are led by individual runner-up Kevin Diederich, the only other runner to earn M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honors this year among NJCAA DIII men.
Continuing at No. 3 is Joliet (Ill.) JC, which was second of NJCAA DIII teams at the Heartland Invitational and led by freshman Nathan Ciarlette, who finished third overall individually.
Kellogg (Mich.) CC continues at a program-best No. 4. The Bruins finished eighth in the NJCAA DII-strong Lansing Invitational, where freshman Julian Borst was seventh.
No. 5 Mineral Area (Mo.) remains No. 5. The Cardinals were the third NJCAA DIII team in the Heartland Invitational, with freshman Anthony Tragesser continuing to lead the way.
Completing the top-10 are No. 6 RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.), No. 7 Onondaga (N.Y.) CC, No. 8 Brookdale (N.J.) CC, No. 9 Suffolk County (N.Y.) CC and No. 10 Thaddeus Stevens (Pa.).
The season culminates on Saturday, November 9, when the 2024 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held at Pole Green Park near Richmond, Virginia.
