2025 NJCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1
NEW ORLEANS – Change seemed everywhere in the Week 1 edition of the 2025 NJCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
A major exception was at the very top as Iowa Western CC improved its hold at No. 1 from the preseason version.
Things will sort out at a familiar location as the 2025 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships return to Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Saturday, November 8. This will be the fifth time since 2013 that the nationals have been held there; no other site has been host more than twice in the time span.
National Coaches’ Polls are presented by AthleticNET.
NJCAA Division I — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Iowa Western CC
Iowa Western CC
2
Iowa Central CC
Iowa Central CC
3
New Mexico JC
New Mexico JC
4
Hutchinson (Kan.) CC
Hutchinson (Kan.) CC
5
Crowder (Mo.)
Crowder (Mo.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Iowa Western CC, last year’s runner-up, gained seven first-place votes (now owning nine of the 10) after a strong showing at the Platte River Rumble Gold, winning the team title by two points over NCAA DII No. 11 Northwest Missouri, thanks to a 1-2 finish by Geofrey Ronoh – last week’s M-F National Athlete of the Week – and Barnabas Ndiwa. That duo finish fourth and fifth in last year’s national championships, with Ndiwa taking team honors.
Iowa Central CC rises up a spot to No. 2, their highest since 2022. The Tritons, with all scorers being freshmen, put three in the top-5 in winning the Hawkeye Invitational on a tiebreaker over host NCAA DI Iowa. The trio was led by individual winner Chakib Cherkaoui Rhazouani with twin brothers Saad Rifi Loutfi and Said Rifi Loutfi going 3-4.
Moving up three places to No. 3 is New Mexico JC, most recently third in the Texas Tech Open behind the hosts and NCAA DII No. 10 West Texas A&M. The T-Birds have been led in both meets by Brian Cheruiyot, a top-20 finisher as the team’s No. 1 in last year’s nationals.
Hutchinson (Kan.) CC remains No. 4. The Blue Dragons swept the top-4 spots at their own Terry Masterson Twilight Classic, their only meet thus far. Cornelius Kogo won the 4-mile race by 21.3 seconds.
No. 5 is a program high for Crowder (Mo.) and an improvement by two places from the preseason poll. The Roughriders had three – all freshman – of the top-5 collegians at the Southwestern Baptist Bearcat Invitational, led by Sila Kiseo.
Completing the top-10 are No. 6 Snow (Utah), No. 7 Butler (Kan.) CC, No. 8 Southern Idaho, No. 9 Indian Hills (Iowa) CC and No. 10 Garden City (Kan.) CC.
