USTFCCCA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY POLL - WEEK 1
Ottumwa, IA – The Indian Hills Men's Cross Country team continued its ascent up the national rankings following one of the best performances in school history over the weekend. The Warriors check in at No. 7 in this week's United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll.
From top to bottom, the Warriors put together perhaps the strongest showing in program history at the Bradley Intercollegiate in Peoria, IL on Friday night. Led by another school record-breaking performance from freshman Brandon Ford (Perth, West Australia/Duncraig), the Warriors jumped a spot to No. 7 in the national poll while earning 119 team points.
The No. 7 spot for the Warriors is the highest mark for the program since checking in at No. 6 in the first week of the 2021 season. The Warriors have only been ranked No. 7 or higher in the national polls three previous times, and have never been rated higher than sixth in the nation.
Ford dominated the Bradley Intercollegiate with an 8k school record performance with a time of 24:07.30, shattering the previous mark by 15 seconds, to place second overall. In two collegiate meets this year, Ford has set both the 8k and 6k school records.
The Warriors have also been powered by freshman Keveroy Venson (Linstead, Jamaica/Calabar) who placed 14th overall on Friday night with a time of 24:49.60, two weeks removed from posting the second-fastest 6k time in school history.
The Bradley Intercollegiate also saw strong performances from freshman Moubarik Yago (Toulouse, France/Lycee Melkior Garre) who made his collegiate debut and placed 16th overall for the Warriors. Brody Lucas (Norwalk, IA/Norwalk set a new personal best by 87 seconds while Nik Davis (McCausland, IA/North Scott), Logan Soedt (Eldridge, IA/North Scott), Keelan Aita (Bennington, KS/Bennington), and Jacchaeus Taylor (Kansas City, KS/Raytown) all produced strong individual efforts for the Warriors.
This week's poll is topped by Trinidad State College (CO) with 158 points followed by Colby Community College (KS), New Mexico Junior College, Iowa Western Community College, and Salt Lake Community College (UT).
The Warriors return to action on September 30 with the Dan Huston Invitational in Waverly, IA.
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