2025 NJCAA DI Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – Two programs continued 1-2 for a fifth-straight poll (including the Preseason version) in the Week 4 edition of the 2025 NJCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
This is the final set of rankings before the 2025 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, which will be held at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Saturday, November 8.
National Coaches’ Polls are presented by AthleticNET.
NJCAA Division I — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Odessa (Texas)
Odessa (Texas)
2
Iowa Western CC
Iowa Western CC
3
El Paso (Texas) CC
El Paso (Texas) CC
4
New Mexico JC
New Mexico JC
5
Hutchinson (Kan.) CC
Hutchinson (Kan.) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Odessa (Texas) is a unanimous No. 1 for the fourth poll in a row, and it’s understandable after a strong victory in the Region 5 Championships, which featured four of the top-6 teams in the rankings. The Wranglers won with 32 points – 24 ahead of their nearest competitor – in being led by individual runner-up Milicent Wafula, who suffered her first NJCAA loss of the season despite bettering the previous course record at Harry McAdams Park in Hobbs, New Mexico. Wafula is one of three freshmen scorers for Odessa, which was eighth last year and seems destined to shatter its program-best finish of fifth from 1991. The Wranglers’ No. 5 runner in the Region 5 meet, Kaydeen Johnson, is the second-highest returner from last year’s nationals (ninth).
No. 2 Iowa Western CC was a dominant winner at the Region 11 Championships with three of the top-4 finishers in posting a score of 27 points. The Reivers were led by Juliana Sakat, who won by nearly a minute in remaining undefeated against NJCAA competition – which includes winning all seven individual events she entered in track & field championships while contributing 42½ team points at the NJCAA Indoor Championships and 31½ points at the NJCAA DI Outdoor Championships. Iowa Western also seems destined to improve on their best-ever finish, which is third from 2023.
El Paso (Texas) CC rises up a spot to a season-high No. 3 after finishing runner-up at the loaded Region 5 Championships. The Tejanas are also led by freshman Nhamoinesu Mabvuka, who was fourth individually. El Paso is on an upswing, looking to join the top-3 at nationals for the first time since 2021; they were runner-up in 2018 and won the team crown in 2014.
No. 4 New Mexico JC dropped a notch after finishing third in the Region 5 battle royale. The T-Birds were led by Yiddiya Bifa, who won the individual title over Wafula as both broke the course record at Harry McAdams Park, NMJC’s home course. Bifa is the top returner from last year’s nationals, having finished third while at Iowa Central CC, and teammate Amal Kachouri is the second-highest returner. The T-Birds have been among the top-4 every year they’ve field a team since 2019, including three runner-up finishes.
Moving up three rungs to a season-high No. 5 is Hutchinson (Kan.) CC, which won the Region 6 Championships. The Blue Dragons were led by freshman Mildred Rono, who won the individual title by over 45 seconds. Rono is the closest any NJCAA athlete has come this fall to beating Sakat, losing by 1.1 seconds at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open two weeks ago – and that is her only loss of the season. Hutchinson’s best-ever finish in the DI nationals is fourth in 2022.
Completing the top-10 are No. 6 Ranger (Texas), No. 7 Southern Idaho, No. 8 Crowder (Mo.), No. 9 Butler (Kan.) CC and No. 10 Indian Hills (Iowa) CC., the latter reaching the top-10 for the first time since 2021.
