Cloud County Men's Cross Country Team Ranked No. 23 in National Coaches' Poll

The Cloud County Community College men's cross country team is ranked No. 23 in the Week 2 edition of the 2025 NJCAA Division I Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll, which was released Wednesday, October 1, by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The T-Birds are coming off a 13th-place finish in the gold division at the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska, on September 20. The gold division featured runners from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, and NJCAA.

Sophomore Gelasa Degefa Abdisa led the way for the T-Birds with a 19th-place finish out of 236 runners with a time of 25:43.98. Sophomore Abdelaziz Benbrahim finished 80th with a time of 27:04.49. Shortly behind Benbrahim was freshman Davis Miltner in 87th at 27:13.92. Freshman Jesus Baltazar was 172nd at 29:04.90. Shortly behind him was freshman Zeb Schultze in 174th with a time of 29:08.28. Freshman Nicholas Johnson placed 176th with a time of 29:20.00. Freshman Korbin Dykes finished 177th at 29:23.26. Sophomore Cody Sharp was 205th at 30:39.17, while freshman Gage Taylor was 218th with a time of 31:31.53.

Cloud County travels to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the 37th annual Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival hosted by the University of Arkansas on Saturday, October 4. The men's race will begin at 11:25 am, followed by the women's race at 12:10 pm.