Contact:
Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302
USTFCCCA National Rankings
USTFCCCA Regional Rankings
NEW ORLEANS (Sept. 17, 2025) – The North Central College men's cross country team holds at No. 6 in the national rankings while sitting No. 2 in the Midwest Region according to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Week One Coaches' Polls. The USTFCCCA announced its regional rankings on Tuesday and its national rankings on Wednesday.
In the organization's annual preseason poll, the Cardinals were ranked sixth nationally and have maintained that ranking through two weeks of competition. North Central won its first two meets to start the year, the first being its home meet, where the Cardinals turned in a perfect score of 15 points for the NCCXC Invitational victory before taking the win at the Aurora Spartan XC Classic with 22 points.
North Central was led by junior
BJ Sorg at the home opener, where Sorg captured the individual win with an impressive time of 24:26.10. The performance earned Sorg both conference and national weekly honors. A week later, the Cardinals ran a younger squad at the Spartan Classic, where
Ari Elmayan led the way with a runner-up finish, clocking a personal best of 26:51.6. Elmayan was honored as the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Runner of the Week, marking consecutive weekly awards for the Cardinals.
Much of the USTFCCCA top-five remained the same, with UW-La Crosse leading the rankings with 298 points and eight first-place votes. Wartburg totaled two first-place votes and 292 points for the No. 2 spot -- and is the one team ahead of the Cardinals in the regional rankings -- while SUNY Geneseo took third with 276 points. Pomona-Pitzer has jumped ahead of Johns Hopkins since the preseason poll, as Pomona-Pitzer totaled 270 points for fourth, and Johns Hopkins's 264 points were good for fifth.
North Central prepares for a two-meet weekend, sending a small group to Spartanburg, S.C., for DIII Pre-Nationals Saturday, Sept. 20 at 9:15 a.m. ET while another group will stay back to compete at Wheaton College's Gil Dodds Invitational at St. James Farm in Warrenville, Ill., at 10 a.m.
