2020 NJCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 4

NEW ORLEANS – The biggest weekend of the regular season didn’t shake up the top-5 of the NJCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll too much – but it led to some serious changes to the rest of the most recent index released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The top-4 teams from Week 3 remained the same – No. 1 Iowa Central CC, No. 2 Iowa Western CC, No. 3 College of Southern Idaho and No. 4 Hutchinson (Kan.) CC – but Cloud County (Kan.) CC soared into the top-5 behind those stalwarts.

NJCAA Division I — Men's Cross Country

This Week's National Top Five

1
Iowa Central CC

2
Iowa Western CC

3
Southern Idaho

4
Hutchinson (Kan.) CC

5
Cloud County (Kan.) CC

Cross Country Polls & Rankings

NATIONAL POLL

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There were some colossal matchups at the Indian Hills Invitational this past weekend, where four ranked teams did battle: No. 1 Iowa Central CC, No. 2 Iowa Western CC, No. 10 Highland (Kan.) CC and No. 14 Indian Hills (Iowa) CC. While the second-ranked Reivers picked up an 11-point win over the top-ranked Tritons, the rankings remain unchanged because the latter didn’t run two of its star athletes. Further down in the standings, the host Warriors finished a strong fifth and jumped seven spots from No. 14 to No. 7 this week.

Hutchinson (Kan.) CC and Cloud County (Kan.) CC met up at the UNK Invitational this past weekend to much fanfare – and for good reason. It turned out to be an incredible duel, both on the individual level and team level. Two-time National Athlete of the Week Habtamu Geta of Cloud County CC won a close race against another former National Athlete of the Week Teagan Flanagan of Hutchinson CC. Then in the team standings, the Blue Dragons edged the T-Birds by six points (62-68) to end up as the top-finishing JUCO program in the field.

Both Ranger (Texas) College and Louisburg (N.C.) College jumped into the top-10 for the first time this season at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. The Rangers made it look easy at the William Graham Ranger College Invitational this past weekend, putting nine runners in the top-25, while the Hurricanes won the Biscuit Collegiate Invitational with 26 points.

Trinidad State (Colo.) JC joined the poll for the first time this season in a big way. The Trojans, who most recently placed third as a team at the West Texas A&M Buffalo Stampede behind three runners in the top-15, are ranked right outside the top-10 at No. 11.

Remember: The 2020 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday, November 14 in Fort Dodge, Iowa.