2025 NJCAA DII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 3
NEW ORLEANS – A close rivalry added a new chapter in the Week 3 edition of the 2025 NJCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The 2025 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships are set to take place at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Saturday, November 8.
National Coaches’ Polls are presented by AthleticNET.
NJCAA Division II — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
2
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC
3
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
4
Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC
Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC
5
Muskegon (Mich.) CC
Muskegon (Mich.) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
The top-2 positions flip-flopped with Mesa (Ariz.) CC overtaking Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC. One or the other has been No. 1 all season long – including Week 1, when they tied for No. 1.
Both teams were off last weekend. The previous week Mesa won Central Arizona’s Al Shirley Invitational – previously known as the CAMPY Invitational – with Olivia Baker leading a 1-2-3-4 onslaught as the Thunderbirds scored 16 points. Meanwhile, Paradise Valley traveled more than a thousand miles further to the Chile Pepper Festival, where Laynee Hollech earned M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honors as the top NJCAA DII runner in the top-rated Harter’s Habanero race chockful of four-year programs.
Remaining No. 3 is Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC. Freshman Brookelyn Morgan continued to lead the Lions, most recently at the Royals Challenge loaded with four-year programs in posting her fastest 5k time of the year at 18:26.2.
Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC rose three spots to a season-high No. 4 after the Bears finished as the top NJCAA DII squad at the Indian Hills Invitational, led by the fourth-place individual finish of Ava Manning.
Muskegon (Mich.) CC dropped a notch to No. 5. The Jayhawks were sixth in their own Jayhawk Invitational, led by current M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week Tatum Dykstra, who was runner-up as the top collegian.
Completing the top-10 are No. 6 Daytona State (Fla.), No. 7 NorthWest Arkansas CC, No. 8 St. Clair County (Mich.) CC, No. 9 Northeast Alabama CC and No. 10 Mott (Mich.) CC.
