GALESBURG — Both Carl Sandburg College cross country teams made history by appearing in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NJCAA Division II polls released Wednesday.
The Chargers’ men’s team, which came in at No. 6, is ranked for the first time ever. Sandburg’s women’s team was ranked No. 19, its highest mark in program history. The team’s previous high was No. 25 during the 2018 season, which was also the only other time it had been nationally ranked.
Already this season, Sandburg’s men’s team has defeated NCAA Division I program Western Illinois in a dual meet, had freshman Calton Kibet (Kenya/Poiywek Secondary) named NJCAA Division II Runner of the Week and has seen the 8-kilometer school record broken twice, most recently by freshman Josphat Langat (Kenya/Alliance) with a time of 25:49.0 at last week’s Bradley Intercollegiate.
The women’s team posted a second-place finish at the Fighting Bee Invitational hosted by St. Ambrose earlier this month. Sandburg was the only Region IV school to appear in this week’s women’s rankings.
The Chargers’ next race is the Heartland Invite at 4 p.m. Oct. 1 at Maxwell Park in Normal.