2020 NJCAA DII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 5
NEW ORLEANS – A clear No. 1 exists in the newest NJCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) – and also happens to be the Pre-Championships Edition!
Cowley College earned 12 of 13 possible first-place votes to go into the 2020 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships next weekend as the near-unanimous favorite. Heartland CC is the only other program to earn a first-place vote and comes in at No. 2.
NJCAA Division II — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Cowley (Kan.)
Cowley (Kan.)
2
Heartland (Ill.) CC
Heartland (Ill.) CC
3
Hawkeye (Iowa) CC
Hawkeye (Iowa) CC
4
Grand Rapids (Mich.) CC
Grand Rapids (Mich.) CC
5
St. Clair County (Mich.) CC
St. Clair County (Mich.) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
It’s easy to see why the Tigers are favored. Led by three-time National Athlete of the Week Lubna Suied, Cowley College has proved itself against all levels of competition. Most recently at the Region VI Championships in El Dorado, Kansas, Suied picked up the individual title and the Tigers put three other runners in the top-20 to finish as the top NJCAA DII program and the second-best NJCAA program, regardless of division.
The second-ranked Hawks are on a bit of a roll, capturing three consecutive team titles – most recently at the Region XXIV Championships this past weekend. Heartland CC put five runners in the top-10 (4-6-7-8-10) as it finished with 35 points and dealt a resounding defeat to NJCAA DI No. 10 Vincennes University. Olivia Boyd has been the Hawks’ top runner in 2020.
No. 3 Hawkeye CC is also expected to contend for the national title: It sits right on Heartland CC’s heels (Just one point separates the two programs). The RedTails, led by former National Athlete of the Week Ryann Portch, recently won the NJCAA DII crown at the Region XI Championships by default (North Iowa Area CC didn’t field a full team) – but would have placed second behind NJCAA No. 1 Iowa Central CC if the meet was scored out.
Region XII champion Grand Rapids CC sits fourth, one spot ahead of rival St. Clair County CC. It was in Lansing, Michigan, this past weekend, where the Raiders put five runners in the top-10, led by individual champion Audrey Meyering. The Skippers held tough with three of their own runners in the top-10, topped by Lily Connelly in third.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 5: No. 6 Wallace State, No. 7 Daytona State, No. 8 Kaskaskia College, No. 9 Jackson College and No. 10 Pasco-Hernando State.
