2023 NJCAA DII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1
NEW ORLEANS – Jostling in the rankings found the top-11 programs in new positions of the Week 1 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).
NJCAA Division II — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC
Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC
2
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
Mesa (Ariz.) CC
3
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) CC
4
Daytona State (Fla.)
Daytona State (Fla.)
5
Heartland (Ill.) CC
Heartland (Ill.) CC
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
No. 1 for the first time in program history is Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC, which garnered 10 first-place votes. The Pumas were 11th in the UC Riverside Invitational, which was dominated by four-year programs. Leading the way for PVCC was its top returner – the Pumas return all five scorers from 2022 – in Jazmin Estrada, 19th in 18:29.1 for 5K.
Capturing the other two first-place votes is No. 2 Mesa (Ariz.) CC in their highest showing since being No. 1 in Week 2 of 2022. National runner-up last year, the Thunderbirds haven’t competed since the George Kyte Classic two weeks ago when they were led by freshman Carmella Baldwin.
Wallace State (Ala.) CC moved up four places to No. 3, their highest since being No. 2 in Week 1 of 2021. The Lions – fifth at last year’s nationals and just five points away from third – were fifth as the top JUCO program at the Montevallo Falcon Classic, where five freshmen led by Claire Deaton did the scoring.
No. 4 is another upward mover in Daytona State (Fla.) with a new program-high ranking. The Falcons were the leading JUCO team at the Southern Showcase, where Giovana Meade led the way individually followed by Shannon Jones (Jones was fourth in last year’s national championships).
Dropping two places to No. 5 is Heartland (Ill.) CC, continuing their streak of being top-5 in every poll since the DII rankings began in 2020. The Hawks were 10th in the Redbird Invitational, led by Addysen Clark, who is one of three scorers returning from last year’s third-place team.
Completing the top-10 teams are No. 6 Cowley (Kan.), No. 7 Pasco-Hernando (Fla.), No. 8 Lansing (Mich.) CC, No. 9 Southeastern (Iowa) CC and No. 10 Southwestern Michigan. Lansing is the reigning NJCAA DII champions.
The season culminates on Saturday, November 11, when the 2023 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will be held at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama.
