CONTACT: Adam Sopris,a.sopris@hvcc.edu, (518) 629-7898 or (518) 416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Thursday, September 21, 2023
NEW ORLEANS – A new name was among the highest rankers in the Week 1 NJCAA Division III Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The 2023 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships are set for Saturday, November 11 at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama. It will be the first time since 2020 – and only second time since 1995 – that all three NJCAA divisional cross country championships will be contested at the same site on the same day.
Not new, of course, is defending champion and No. 1 Harper (Ill.). The Hawks return two top-10 runners in Lilly Alberts (third) and Brianna Ruiz (10th). Alberts memorably was part of four victories at last spring's NJCAA DIII Outdoor Championships, winning the 800 meters and anchoring three relays – 4×100, 4×400 and 4×800.
Enter Jefferson (Mo.), a first-year program with its first-ever ranking, impressively at No. 2. The Vikings have freshman-dominated roster with Lauren Hartman leading the way thus far.
No. 3 is Mineral Area (Mo.) CC, last year's national runner-up by one excruciating point to Harper. The Cardinals return just two from that squad – both scorers, led by Riley Petsch (11th). Three freshmen have made up the remainder of the scoring five thus far this fall.
No. 4 is Hudson Valley (N.Y.) CC, their highest-ever ranking. The Vikings return two scorers from last year's team that finish seventh at nationals, and freshman Rebecca Martin has battled returning No. 1 Laurel Ticer in the first month.
Herkimer County (N.Y.) CC completes the top-5 with its highest-ever ranking. The Generals, however, finished fifth in 2016 before the rankings began in 2020. The rebuilding program is led by Amelia Bowman-McCoy, who was 18th last year.
Rounding out the top-10 are No. 6 RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.), No. 7 Kellogg (Mich.) CC, No. 8 SUNY Broome CC, No. 9 Georgia Military and No. 10 Anthony Baldwin (Ga.).