Nine KJCCC Men's Teams, Eight KJCCC Women's Teams Featured In NJCAA Cross Country Preseason Polls

USTFCCCA NJCAA D1 Men’s Release | USTFCCCA NJCAA D1 Women’s Release

USTFCCCA NJCAA D2 Men’s Release | USTFCCCA NJCAA D2 Women’s Release

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has released their NJCAA cross country preseason polls with nine men’s teams and eight women’s teams from the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference either ranked or receiving votes in the first poll of the year.

Of the nine men’s teams, seven are ranked in the NJCAA Division 1 cross country poll including three inside the top 10 while the NJCAA Division 2 cross country poll has both KJCCC representatives ranked inside the top 12. The women’s poll has seven among the NJCAA Division 1 poll with three ranked inside the top 10 while the Cowley women are the lone representative in the NJCAA Division 2 poll after being ranked fourth in the preseason poll.

In the NJCAA Division 1 men’s cross country poll, Butler Community College tops all KJCCC schools by coming in ranked third with 163 total points with Colby (139 points) ranked sixth, and Hutchinson (104 points) ranked 10th. The number three ranking for Butler is the highest in program history as the Grizzlies look to build off of last year’s 11th-place finish at the 2023 NJCAA Division 1 Men’s Cross Country Championships. Other teams from the KJCCC to be ranked in the NJCAA Division 1 men’s cross country poll include Cloud County in 19th after receiving 30 total points as well as Fort Hays Tech Northwest in 22nd with 18 points while Garden City (five points) and Neosho County (one point) are both just outside the top-25 and receiving votes.

The NJCAA Division 2 men’s cross country poll has the highest-ranked team from either the men or the women for the KJCCC with Cowley Community College ranked number two in the preseason poll after finishing sixth at the NJCAA Division 2 Cross Country Championships last year while returning three runners from last year’s squad. The Tigers tallied 201 points to trail only Mesa Community College who earned 222 points while Allen Community College was ranked 12th with 83 total points.

With seven teams ranked or receiving votes in the NJCAA Division 1 women’s cross country poll, the conference is led by number six ranked Hutchinson Community College as the Blue Dragons earned 141 points and are just four points back of preseason number five Iowa Central with reigning National Champion Salt Lake Community College earning all 10 first-place votes to be picked preseason number one with 200 total points. Also ranked in the top 10 from the KJCCC is number eight ranked Colby and number 10 ranked Dodge City while Cloud County (11th) and Butler (12th) are both right on the cusp of getting inside the top 10. Following Butler in 12th from the KJCCC is both Garden City and Neosho County as their women’s teams match their men’s teams in receiving votes in the preseason poll.

Defending NJCAA Division 2 Women’s Cross Country National Champion is the lone team from the KJCCC ranked in the Division 2 women’s preseason poll with the Tigers earning 206 total points while returning just one runner from last year’s title squad. Topping the Division 2 women’s preseason poll is Mesa Community College (235 points) followed by Paradise Valley (220 points), and Des Moines Area Community College (212) to round out the top three teams.

Four conference schools are in action this weekend with meets as Allen County will begin the weekend on Friday by heading to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take part in the Augustana University Twilight meet before seeing Cloud County, Colby, and Cowley all take part in the Wichita State University JK Gold Classic in Wichita, Kansas on Saturday morning.