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
1
DuPage (Ill.)
DuPage (Ill.)
2
Harper (Ill.)
Harper (Ill.)
3
Joliet (Ill.) JC
Joliet (Ill.) JC
4
Kellogg (Mich.) CC
Kellogg (Mich.) CC
5
Patrick & Henry (Va.) CC
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.
