2025 NJCAA DII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Preseason ::: USTFCCCA

By USTFCCCA Communications, USTFCCCA
August 27, 2025  &nbsp

NEW ORLEANS – Mesa (Ariz.) CC is a unanimous selection as No. 1 in the preseason edition of the 2025 NJCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, which was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The 2025 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships are set to take place at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Saturday, November 8.

National Coaches’ Polls are presented by AthleticNET.

No.
1 Mesa returns four from last year’s championship team – three of those were
scorers who finished in the top-15 in Kinsley Jackson (sixth), Katie Munoz (13^th)
and Marissa Hernandez (15^th). Incoming freshmen include Olivia Baker,
who led the squad at last weekend’s Mesa Early Bird Open.

Wallace State (Ala.) CC
is No. 2, equaling its best-ever ranking. The Lions were fourth last year and
return two of their top-3 in Reagan Paris (29^th) and Grace Gosline
(41^st).

No.
3 Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC was
runner-up last year after a third-place finish in ’23. The Pumas have once
scorer returning in Laynee Hollech (seventh).

Muskegon (Mich.) CC
is No. 4 with their first top-10 appearance since 2020. The Jayhawks were 19^th
in last year’s nationals and return their top-3 plus add transfer Tatum
Dykstra, who was the No. 3 runner on SCAD Atlanta’s NAIA 17^th-place squad
last year.

No.
5 Cowley (Kan.) was eighth last year
after winning the 2023 title. The Tigers return just one scorer from last year
in Pauline Althoff but are excited about a large group of middle-distance
athletes running cross country for the first time.

Rounding
out the top-10: No. 6 Daytona State
(Fla.), No. 7 Des Moines Area (Iowa)
CC, No. 8 Lansing (Mich.) CC, No.
9 Coconino (Ariz.) CC and No. 10 NorthWest Arkansas CC.