Wayland Baptist Men Take Narrow Lead in NAIA Outdoor T&F National Team Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – In what may be the closest collegiate track & field championship race in the country, the Wayland Baptist (Texas) men have narrowly seized control over the NAIA National Team Computer Rankings with the Championship Meet in Gulf Shores, Ala., just over two weeks away (May 22-24).

The Pioneers stood relatively pat from a week ago and let the two teams that had been ranked higher in formerly top-ranked Oklahoma Baptist and Concordia (Ore.) fall past them.

Meanwhile in the women’s rankings British Columbia expanded its advantage in the No. 1 position while the three other teams within striking distance attempted to keep pace.

Team rankings points do not equate to NAIA Championships team points scored at the national meet, but rather the number of student-athletes a team has near the top of the descending order list in their resepctive events and how highly they are ranked.

A full explanation of the points system used in the National Team Computer Rankings can be found here.

Qualification for the NAIA Championships will not be determined in any way by these rankings, which are not officially sanctioned or endorsed by the NAIA for the 2014 season. These rankings are supported by the NAIA from the standpoint of media and entertainment purposes only.

Men’s Top Five 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Wayland Baptist 428.83 pts Concordia (Ore.) 409.65 pts Indiana Tech 403.53 pts Oklahoma Baptist 392.56 pts Concordia (Neb.) 287.51 pts View Complete Men’s Rankings

For the Wayland Baptist men, Stephen Sutherland Improved to No. 4 at 200 meters in a tie with his teammates Durawn Howard and Lorenzo Dolphus – all of whom are also ranked in the top three at 400 meters nationally. All told, the Pioneers checked in with a team rankings score of 428.83 after a six-point improvement.

Concordia (Ore.) (409.65) remained steady at No. 2 despite falling more than 17 points, while defending national champion and recently crowned WHAC champion Indiana Tech (403.53) moved up a position to No. 3 despite a more than 10-point drop.

Falling the hardest was last week’s No. 1 Oklahoma Baptist (392.56), which sunk three spots to No. 4 after losing nearly 37 points from its team score. Within 40 points of Wayland Baptist, the Bison and each of the three teams ranked ahead of them are still very much in the hunt for the team title, in terms of proximity in the rankings

GPAC champion Concordia (Neb.) (287.51) rounded out the top five, holding firm from a week ago.

Up 11 spots from a week ago, the No. 22 CCAC champion Olivet Nazarene men moved up the farthest of any program in the top 25 this week, men’s or women’s.

Women’s Top Five 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) British Columbia 545.03 pts Indiana Tech 490.94 pts Oklahoma Baptist 462.68 pts Doane (Neb.) 455.42 pts Wayland Baptist 290.71 pts View Complete Women’s Rankings

Behind the No. 3 marathon by Jennifer McCormack and the No. 5 half marathon by Alix Thompson, the British Columbia women not only remained No. 1 but added a rankings-best 44 points to their team rankings score to check in at 545.03.

After falling to No. 3 in week three, the defending national champion Indiana Tech women (490.94) – fresh of a WHAC title – moved up to No. 2 after a 23-point gain from last week to at least partially keep pace with UBC. Moving the opposite direction was No. 3 Oklahoma Baptist (462.68), dropping one position after a nearly 30-point decrease.

Those three teams, along with GPAC champion No. 4 Doane (Neb.) (455.42) after a nearly 40-point gain of its own, have separated themselves from the pack in the eyes of the computer. Rounding out the top five was Wayland Baptist (Texas), which held its position but saw its team score drop by nearly 10 points.

It wasn’t a week for big moves on the women’s side, as GSAC champion No. 20 Biola (Calif.) and No. 24 Dordt (Iowa) tied at four spots for the biggest move of the week.