2024 NJCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Ranking – Week 4

NEW ORLEANS – There were six changes in the Week 4 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).

This is the final set of rankings before the 2024 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, which will be held on Saturday, November 9, at Pole Green Park near Richmond, Virginia.

National Coaches’ Rankings are presented by AthleticNET.

NJCAA Division III — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
DuPage (Ill.)
Harper (Ill.)
Joliet (Ill.) JC
Kellogg (Mich.) CC
Patrick & Henry (Va.) CC
1
DuPage (Ill.)
2
Harper (Ill.)
3
Joliet (Ill.) JC
4
Kellogg (Mich.) CC
5
Patrick & Henry (Va.) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings

None of the changes affected the top-4 programs, who have occupied those positions in some order all season long.

Continuing at No. 1 is DuPage (Ill.), hot off a dominating victory at the tough Region 4 Championships with 25 points. The Chaps will be looking for their first national team title since 2022 after finishing as runner-up last year. They are led by returning individual runner-up Kevin Diederich, who is undefeated this year against NJCAA DIII competition.

Defending champ Harper (Ill.) follows again at No. 2 after taking runner-up honors in the Region 4 Championships. The Hawks are led by Owen Whelan, who like Diederich is a three-time M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week this fall. Whelan was seventh in last year’s NJCAA DIII Cross Country Championships.

No. 3 Joliet (Ill.) JC was third in the Region 4 Championships. The Wolves – who won the national team title in 2021 – have been led by Nathan Ciarlette, whose margin in being individual Region runner-up – 5.2 seconds – is the closest any NJCAA DIII runner has been to Diderich since Ciarlette’s loss by 3.7 seconds in the season-opening St. Francis Fighting Saints Open. Ciarlette’s older brother, Andrew, was fifth in last year’s nationals.

Kellogg (Mich.) CC has been No. 4 – a program-best – in every ranking this year. The Bruins were the leading DIII team in the DII-dominated Region 12 Championships, with Julian Borst taking 14th as the top DIII individual by nearly two minutes.

Entering the top-5 for the first time in program history is Patrick & Henry (Va.) CC, which seems virtually certain to improve on their best nationals finish of 18th, achieved in 2021. Jaime Lopez was the Patriots’ top runner at the Region 10 Championships, placing fifth among runners from all divisions.

Completing the top-10 teams are No. 6 Mineral Area (Mo.), No. 7 Onondaga (N.Y.) CC, No. 8 Suffolk County (N.Y.) CC, No. 9 Brookdale (N.J.) CC and No. 10 RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.). The No. 6 Cardinals have finished among the top-3 teams in each of the last five years.

Athletic.net
Presenting sponsor of USTFCCCA Polls and Rankings

USTFCCCA NJCAA Division III
Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll

2024 Week 4 - October 30th

RANK TEAM & INFOPTSCHANGE
1 dupage-ill DUPAGE (ILL.)
Central Region
Region 4
Mallory Dominguez (1st)
◀▶
(LW: 1)
2 harper-ill HARPER (ILL.)
Central Region
Region 4
Jim Macnider (14th)
◀▶
(LW: 2)
3 joliet-ill-jc JOLIET (ILL.) JC
Central Region
Region 4
Jeff DeGraw (19th)
◀▶
(LW: 3)
4 kellogg-mich-cc KELLOGG (MICH.) CC
Central Region
Region 12
Tom Shaw (3rd)
◀▶
(LW: 4)
5 patrick-henry-va-cc PATRICK & HENRY (VA.) CC
East Region
Region 10
Brandy Arnold
▲ 5
(LW: 10)
6 mineral-area-mo MINERAL AREA (MO.)
Central Region
Region 16
Steven Davis (7th)
▼ 1
(LW: 5)
7 onondaga-n-y-cc ONONDAGA (N.Y.) CC
Central Region
Region 3
Greg Kielar (8th)
▲ 1
(LW: 8)
8 suffolk-county-n-y-cc SUFFOLK COUNTY (N.Y.) CC
Northeast Region
Region 15
Matthew French (11th)
▲ 1
(LW: 9)
9 brookdale-n-j-cc BROOKDALE (N.J.) CC
East Region
Region 19
Mike Tursi (11th)
▼ 2
(LW: 7)
10 rcsj-gloucester-n-j RCSJ GLOUCESTER (N.J.)
East Region
Region 19
Ryan Hughes (22nd)
▼ 4
(LW: 6)

Dropped Out: (none)



Week-by-Week Ranking

TeamPreseasonWeek #1Week #2Week #3Week #4FINAL
DuPage (Ill.)212111
Harper (Ill.)121222
Joliet (Ill.) JC333333
Onondaga (N.Y.) CC107874
Kellogg (Mich.) CC444445
Mineral Area (Mo.)555566
Suffolk County (N.Y.) CC99987
RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.)766108
Patrick & Henry (Va.) CC1059
Brookdale (N.J.) CC6887910
Thaddeus Stevens (Pa.)1011
St. Charles (Mo.) CC12
Lorain County (Ohio) CC7613
Hudson Valley (N.Y.) CC14
SUNY Erie15
Oxford (Ga.)16
Herkimer County (N.Y.) CC917
Mohawk Valley (N.Y.) CC8
East Central (Miss.) CC10

USTFCCCA NJCAA Division III Cross Country

2024 Rankings & Polls Calendar
Weeks National Coaches' Ranking KEY DATES
PreseasonWed 9/4
MEN | WOMEN
Week 1Wed 9/18
MEN | WOMEN
Week 2Wed 10/2
MEN | WOMEN
Week 3Wed 10/16
MEN | WOMEN
Week 4Wed 10/30
MEN | WOMEN
Sat., Nov. 9 - NJCAA Championships (Richmond, Va.)
FINAL Results
(official final ranking)
Sat 11/9
MEN | WOMEN