NIACC men's XC team regains No. 1 ranking
MASON CITY - The NIACC men's cross country team is back on top of the national rankings.
NIACC, which was third in the Oct. 7 rankings, moved past Allen County CC and Cowley CC in the USTFCCCA NJCAA Division II rankings released Wednesday.
Allen County CC, which was No. 1 in in the Oct. 7 rankings, is ranked second and Cowley CC, which was No. 2 in the last rankings, sits in the third spot. Hawkeye CC and Heartland CC (Ill.) round out the top five at fourth and fifth, respectively.
NIACC was ranked No. 1 in the first poll of the season on Sept. 9.
Last Friday, NIACC placed third at the Indian Hills Invitational with 76 points. Iowa Western and Iowa Central, both NJCAA Division I schools, placed first and second, respectively, and Hawkeye CC placed sixth.
At the Indian Hills meet, freshman Melvin Kipkemboi led the Trojans with a fourth-place finish in a time of 25 minutes, 17 seconds, which ranks fourth in NIACC's career 8-kilometer list. Sophomore Jorge Ruiz was fifth in 25:20, which ranks fifth on the school's career 8K list.
Other counting scores for the Trojans were Vicente Correia (11th in 26:09), Janvier Irakoze (21st in 26:45) and Richard Marcoux (34th in 27:31).
NIACC, Allen CC (Kan.), Cowley CC (Kan.), Hawkeye CC, Heartland CC (Ill.), Daytona State (Fla.), Wallace State CC (Ala.), Grand Rapids CC (Mich.), Metropolitian CC (Mo.), Jackson (Mich.), Lake-Sumter State (Fla.), Redlands CC (Okla.), UA Rich Mountain (Ark.), Marion Military Institute (Ala.), Bryant & Stratton (Wis.), Tallahassee CC (Fla.), Kaskaskia (Ill.), St. Clair County CC (Mich.), Moraine Valley CC (Ill.), Danville Area CC (Ill.), Mott CC (Mich.), Florida State-Jacksonville.
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
