MASON CITY – The NIACC men’s cross country team will enter the national meet ranked No. 2 in the USTFCCCA NJCAA Division II poll.
NIACC, which was No. 1 in the Oct. 21 poll, fell to the second spot behind top-ranked Cowley CC (Kan.) in Wednesday’s final poll of the season. Allen County CC (Kan.) is ranked third and Hawkeye CC is ranked fourth.
The NJCAA Division II national meet is set for Nov. 14 in Fort Dodge.
NIACC cruised to the NJCAA Region XI Division II title last Sunday in Fort Dodge with 19 points. Hawkeye CC was a distant second with 40 points.
NIACC had nine of the top 12 runners at the regional meet as the Trojans their first regional title since 2012. NIACC’s Melvin Kipkemboi was the individual regional champion and the Trojans’ Jorge Ruiz placed second.
Cowley College won the overall NJCAA Region VI title that included four teams ranked in the NJCAA Division I poll in El Dorado, Kan. Cowley College put two runners in the top-5 and all scorers in the top-20 to win the overall region title against four teams that were ranked in the top-10 of the NJCAA DI National Coaches’ Polls.
USTFCCCA NJCAA Division II men’s poll (Nov. 4, 2020)
Cowley College (Kan.), NIACC, Allen CC (Kan.), Hawkeye CC, Daytona State (Fla.), Wallace State CC (Ala.), Heartland CC (Ill.), Grand Rapids CC (Mich.), Lake-Sumter State (Fla.), Jackson (Mich.), Metropolitian CC (Mo.), Marion Military Institute (Ala.), Macomb CC (Mich.), Florida State-Jacksonville, Bryant & Stratton (Wis.), UA Rich Mountain (Ark.), Tallahassee CC (Fla.), St. Clair County CC (Mich.), Moraine Valley CC (Ill.), Kaskaskia (Ill.), Muskegon CC (Mich.), Redlands CC (Okla.), Mott CC (Mich.), Danville CC (Ill.)
NIACC IN THE POLLS
Where the NIACC men’s cross country team has been in the USTFCCCA NJCAA Division II national poll in 2020:
Sept. 9 – 1st
Sept. 23 – 3rd
Oct. 7 – 3rd
Oct. 21 – 1st
Nov. 4 – 1st
