NMJC Women's XC Ranks Top 5 Nationally

NEW ORLEANS – The College of Southern Idaho bolted to the lead as No. 1 in the NJCAA Division I Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll.

It's the first No. 1 ranking in program history for the Golden Eagles as an exciting season will culminate with the 2021 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 13 at Pole Green Park in Richmond, Virginia.

College of Southern Idaho opened the season impressively with four freshmen finishing ahead of the three returners from last year's third-place team in the CSI Classic on September 3. CSI earned six of the eight first-place votes in the Week 1 poll.

Dodge City (Kan.) CC earned the only other first-place votes and tied New Mexico JC for the No. 2 position in the Week 1 poll. Dodge City, which returns six runners from last year's fifth-place team, finished second at the Terry Masterson Classic on September 3 with 81 points. NMJC was national runner-up in 2019 but missed last year's meet. The T-Birds opened up with an all-freshman squad that finished seventh in the Texas Tech Open on September 4.

Runners-up last year, Cloud County (Kan.) checks in at No. 4 in the Week 1 poll. The T-Birds were right behind Dodge City for third place at the Terry Masterson Classic.

Western Texas, ninth last year, was the second-highest JC team in the Texas Tech Open. The Westerners were led by Valerie Garcia, one of three freshmen who complement four returners.

Rounding out the top-10: No. 6 Garden City (Kan.) CC, No. 7 (tie) Hutchinson (Kan.) CC and North Central Texas, No. 9 Indian Hills (Iowa) and No. 10 Ranger (Texas) JC, the defending national champions.

Only programs which have competed this year are eligible in the poll.