NIACC's Sarah Bertry returns for her sophomore season after placing 2nd at the 2020 national meet.
NIACC's Sarah Bertry returns for her sophomore season after placing 2nd at the 2020 national meet.
September 8, 2021

NIACC women ranked 7th in 1st USTFCCCA poll

MASON CITY - The NIACC women's cross country team is ranked seventh in the first USTFCCCA NJCAA Division II poll with 64 points.

The lone returner from last year's squad that placed 10th at the 2020 national meet is sophomore Sarah Bertry, who was the NJCAA Division II runner-up.

Hawkeye CC, which received seven first-place votes, is ranked No. 1 in the first USTFCCCA NJCAA Division II poll with 90 points. Wallace State is ranked second with 85 points and Heartland CC is ranked third with 83 points.

Hawkeye CC placed third at last season's NJCAA Division II national meet. Wallace State was sixth, Hawkeye CC was sixth and Heartland CC was second. Cowley College, the defending national champion, is ranked fifth.

Bertry placed 16th out of 329 runners at the Augustana Twilight cross country meet last Friday.

Bertry covered the 5-kilometer course in a time of 18 minutes, 50 seconds as the Trojans placed 20th out of 27 teams with 637 points.

It is the third time in her collegiate career that Bertry has broken the 19-minute mark in the 5K. In 2020, Bertry ran a career-best 18:26 at the Indian Hills Invitational and placed second at the NJCAA Division II national meet in a time of 18:33.

Also for NIACC on Friday, Lilly Stockberger was 211th in 22:24, Madisyn Heller was 264th in 23:23, Brianna Ross was 266th in 23:24 and Mercy Melly was 296th in 25:01.

NIACC returns to action Sept. 24 at the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational.

USTFCCCA NJCAA Division II women's cross country poll (Sept. 8, 2021)

1. Hawkeye CC; 2. Wallace State; 3. Heartland CC; 4. Grand Rapids CC; 5. Cowley County CC; 6. St. Clair CC; 7. NIACC; 8. Pasco-Hernando State College; 9. Florida Gateway College; 10. Mesa CC; 11. Kaskaskia College; 12. UA Rich Mountain; 13. Southeastern; 14. Daytona State College; 15. Southwestern Michigan College; 16. South Florida State College; 17. Marion Military Institute; 18. Lake Sumter State College; 19. Walters State CC; 20. Oakland CC; 21. Pima CC; 22. Florida State College at Jacksonville; 22. Highland CC.