2025 NJCAA DII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – The top-4 programs captured regional titles to hold their positions in the Week 4 edition of the 2025 NJCAA Division II Men’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 II 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 II — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Lansing (Mich.) CC
Lansing (Mich.) CC
2
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
3
Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC
Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC
4
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC
5
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Lansing (Mich.) CC is a unanimous No. 1 for the third poll this year after winning the Region 12 Championships with a perfect score of 15 points and seemly destined for a third-straight national team title. The Stars were led by Evan Suydam, who is the only returning member of the 2023 team after missing almost all of last year. Just how good is Lansing? Suydam’s earning M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honors after his Region 12 victory by 17.8 seconds makes him the fourth member of this squad to do, joining freshman Nate Carmody this year along with Jesse Carson and Logan Zahn from last year.
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC remains No. 2 after winning the Region 22 Championships with a perfect score of 15 points. Daniel Leija led the way in winning the individual title by 18.2 seconds as the Lions’ 1-5 spread was 31.6 seconds. Wallace State’s highest finish at the NJCAA DII Championships is third from last year, its third-straight year of improving at the nationals.
Continuing at No. 3 is Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC after handily winning the Region 11 Championships with 18 points as Eli Page led the Bears to six of the top-7 places. DMACC was team runner-up in last year’s national championships.
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC and Mesa (Ariz.) CC take the next two places after going 1-2 in the Region 1 Championships, 31-36. Brady Eagar led PVCC’s top runners going 2-3-4 while the Thunderbirds followed in 5-6-7-8 as Alex Lopez had team honors. These two rivals finished fourth and fifth in last year’s nationals. The Pumas won the 2022 DII team title (along with winning three DI crowns previously), while Mesa’s best-ever finish is fourth in both 2021 and 2022.
Champions from Regions 8, 6 and 24, respectively, take the next three places in the rankings – No. 6 Daytona State (Fla.), No. 7 Cowley (Kan.) and No. 8 Heartland (Ill.) CC – with No. 9 Pasco-Hernando (Fla.) and No. 10 Jacksonville (Texas) rounding out the top-10, the latter having won the Region 14 title.
