Freshmen Help Put St. Aug’s Men Over the Top in Division II This Week, GVSU Women Hold to Sizeable Lead

NEW ORLEANS – The men of Saint Augustine’s regained the nation’s top spot according to the National Team Computer Rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday. In what will seemingly be a season-long tussle with now-No. 2 Lincoln (Mo.), Saint Aug’s used many performances from the last weekend to take 169.49-160.90 lead in the national ranking system. On the women’s side, Grand Valley State remains in the driver’s seat with an opulent score.

PDFs: Top 25 | Full by Team | Event-by-Event
Previous Rankings | Rankings Guidelines & Rationale
Regional Index: Top 10 Teams by Region

Saint Augustine’s freshman Josh Edmonds stole the show last weekend’s Penn State National. With times of 21.58 in the 200 meters and 47.71 in the 400, he ranks as the fourth-best performer in Division II so far this year. Add an anchor leg to Division II’s season-best 4×400-meter relay (3:09.36) and it is easy to see how Edmonds helped the Falcons go back to No. 1.

Grand Valley State’s women again had a weekend of season-best performances across the board. The performance of the weekend came from Liz Murphy in the weight throw. With a mark of 67-6 (20.57m), the sophomore topped the all-time Division II best in the event.

About the Rankings
For more on the rankings and links to guideline and rationale information visit …
/rankings/division-i-rankings

The purpose and methodology of the national team computer rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national-title race – not as a method to compare teams head-to-head.

The Regional Index is determined using a similar method as national rankings, but on a smaller scale, comparing teams versus others within the same region. The result is a ranking that showcases squads with better all-around team potential — a group makeup critical for conference or similar team-scored events. A team may achieve a better regional ranking than a counterpart that has a better national ranking. Historically, some teams are better national-championship teams than conference-championship teams, having a few elite athletes that score very well in a diverse environment where teams do not have entries in more than a few events. Some teams are better at conference championships or similar team-scored events where they enter, and are competitive, in many of the events.

How a team fares in a national championship, conference championship, or scored meet with only a couple or few teams (like a dual or triangular) can be very different, given the number of events, competition, scoring, and makeup of entries — thus the rationale behind each of the ranking systems. Similar arguments about team makeup and rankings can also be found in swimming & diving and wrestling as their sports also have a similar trichotomy when it comes to team theory.