By USTFCCCA Communications, USTFCCCA
September 17, 2025  
NEW ORLEANS – Outside of the top-3, change was everywhere in the Week 1 edition of the 2025 NJCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
But even among the top-3 there was change in that No. 1 Odessa (Texas) gained the two remaining first-place votes it didn’t receive in the preseason poll.
The 2025 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships are scheduled for Saturday, November 8 at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
National Coaches’ Polls are presented by AthleticNET.
NJCAA Division I — Women’s Cross Country
This Week’s National Top Five
1
Odessa (Texas)
2
Iowa Western CC
3
New Mexico JC
4
Crowder (Mo.)
5
Southern Idaho
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Unanimous
No. 1 Odessa has been led by freshman Milicent Wafula, who is undefeated after
winning Abilene Christian’s Naimadu Classic and the Texas Tech Open. She led a
1-2-3 finish in the 4k Naimadu race (13:36.5) and earned M-F National Athlete
of the Week honors with her most recent effort, 20:49.1 over 6k to win the
Texas Tech Open by 20.3 seconds. She’s in her first collegiate cross country
season after winning the NJCAA DI Outdoor 800 in the spring and finishing runner-up
in the 1500 and 5000. Odessa finished third in the team standings in the latter
meet behind NCAA DII No. 2 West Texas A&M and host Texas Tech.
No.
2 Iowa Western CC was the top JUCO
team at the Platte River Rumble Gold. The Reivers are also led by a strong
individual in Juliana Sakat, last week’s M-F National Athlete of the Week after
winning the Platte River Rumble Gold 5k by 19.5 seconds in 17:02.1. Sakat is
also in her first collegiate cross country season – earlier this year in track
& field she contributed 42½ team points at the NJCAA Indoor Championships
and 31½ points at the NJCAA DI Outdoor Championships, winning all seven
individual events she entered.
Continuing
at No. 3 is New Mexico JC. The
T-Birds were the second JUCO squad at the Texas Tech Open without the services
of No. 1 runner Yiddiya Bifa, a transfer from Iowa Central CC who was third
individually at last year’s nationals. Bifa won her season opener at the Lori
Fitzgerald Memorial in 17:32.9 for 5k.
Moving
up a spot to No. 4 is Crowder (Mo.) in
matching a program high. The Roughriders were the top JUCO team at both the
City Auto Memphis Classic and Southwestern Baptist Bearcat Invitational. Each
time they were led by freshman Vivian Kiprono, who won the latter race in
17:51.1 for 5k.
No.
5 Southern Idaho dropped a notch
despite being the leading JUCO program in both of its meets thus far, the Utah
Valley Invitational and their own Dr. Thad Scholes Classic. Both times Edith
Neslen has led the way for the Golden Eagles.
Rounding
out the top-10 are No. 6 El Paso (Texas)
CC, No. 7 Snow (Utah), No. 8 Iowa Central CC, No. 9 Ranger (Texas) and No. 10 Hutchinson (Kan.) CC.
