National Title Race Tightens in Latest Men’s NCAA DI Team Rankings
NEW ORLEANS – Just over a month out from the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, the Texas A&M men continue to relentlessly make up ground in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Computer Rankings.
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The No. 2 Aggies’ strong early-season surge continued this past weekend as they drew ever closer to No. 1 Florida in the week three edition of the National Team Computer Rankings announced Monday by the USTFCCCA.
The National Team Computer Rankings are designed to forecast how teams might fare at the NCAA Championships, which this year will be contested March 11-12 at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Boosted by Devin Jenkins’ 20.58 over 200 meters for the second-fastest time in the USTFCCCA Individual rankings, the Aggies checked in with 117.23 points in the computer rankings – up 13 from a week ago and just 12 shy of the Gators’ 129.26.
The USTFCCCA Rankings’ methodology does not correlate directly with the NCAA Championships scoring system. Points are designated using the USTFCCCA individual rankings, which take into account both the top previous-season marks from top returners and the best performances of 2016.
It’s important to note that this is the final edition of the National Team Computer Rankings that will utilize previous season data in the rankings formula. Starting next week, only performances logged during the 2015-16 season will count. In that department, Texas A&M has been much stronger than Florida so far.
That combined with the numerous de facto regular-season finale meets around the country this weekend – the Arkansas Tyson Invitational, the Washington Husky Classic, the Iowa State Classic, the New Mexico Don Kirby Elite, and so on – promises a much different looking week four edition of the National Team Computer Rankings next Monday.
In the main four-team chase pack in pursuit of Florida and A&M, No. 3 Virginia Tech (96.80) and No. 4 LSU (95.79) both moved up one spot from a week ago as Texas (94.99) dropped two to No. 5. Two-time defending national champion Oregon (92.56) remained No. 6.
No. 7 Tennessee (73.58) and No. 9 TCU (71.68) swapped spots from a week ago, as No. 8 Arkansas (72.43) and No. 10 Georgia (69.24) held firm to round out the top 10. For the Volunteers, both pole vaulter Jake Blankenship and sprinter Christian Coleman took at least a share of the collegiate lead in their respective events this past weekend.
No current top-25 men’s team in the country made bigger strides over the weekend than No. 19 NC State. Just as Jonathan Addison sailed into a tie atop the collegiate long jump leaderboard, his Wolfpack men sailed six spots upward from a week ago.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division I |
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Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25) |
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2016 Week #3 — February 8 |
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| next ranking: February 15 | |||||
| Rank | Institution | Points | Conference | Head Coach (Yr) | Last Week |
| 1 | Florida | 129.26 | SEC | Mike Holloway (14th) | 1 |
| 2 | Texas A&M | 117.23 | SEC | Pat Henry (12th) | 2 |
| 3 | Virginia Tech | 96.80 | ACC | Dave Cianelli (15th) | 4 |
| 4 | LSU | 95.79 | SEC | Dennis Shaver (12th) | 5 |
| 5 | Texas | 94.99 | Big 12 | Mario Sategna (3rd) | 3 |
| 6 | Oregon | 92.56 | MPSF | Robert Johnson (4th) | 6 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 73.58 | SEC | Beth Alford-Sullivan (2nd) | 9 |
| 8 | Arkansas | 72.43 | SEC | Chris Bucknam (8th) | 8 |
| 9 | TCU | 71.68 | Big 12 | Darryl Anderson (12th) | 7 |
| 10 | Georgia | 69.24 | SEC | Petros Kyprianou (1st) | 10 |
| 11 | Stanford | 57.75 | MPSF | Chris Miltenberg (4th) | 12 |
| 12 | Washington | 57.22 | MPSF | Greg Metcalf (14th) | 11 |
| 13 | Colorado | 57.08 | MPSF | Mark Wetmore (21st) | 13 |
| 14 | Texas Tech | 54.78 | Big 12 | Wes Kittley (17th) | 15 |
| 15 | Alabama | 53.39 | SEC | Dan Waters (5th) | 14 |
| 16 | Nebraska | 52.69 | Big Ten | Gary Pepin (33rd) | 16 |
| 17 | Southern California | 45.95 | MPSF | Caryl Smith Gilbert (3rd) | 17 |
| 18 | Virginia | 45.79 | ACC | Bryan Fetzer (5th) | 18 |
| 19 | NC State | 44.18 | ACC | Rollie Geiger (32nd) | 25 |
| 20 | Penn State | 41.61 | Big Ten | John Gondak (2nd) | 21 |
| 21 | Syracuse | 39.78 | ACC | Chris Fox (11th) | 19 |
| 22 | Portland | 39.55 | West Coast | Rob Conner (26th) | 22 |
| 23 | Purdue | 38.52 | Big Ten | Rolando Greene (4th) | 26 |
| 24 | Oklahoma State | 38.43 | Big 12 | Dave Smith (8th) | 20 |
| 25 | Kansas State | 35.44 | Big 12 | Cliff Rovelto (24th) | 24 |
| Dropped out: No. 23 Southern Illinois | |||||
| View All Teams Beyond the Top 25 | |||||
| Men’s Conference Index Top 10 | |||
| Rank | Conference | Points | Top 25 Teams |
| 1 | SEC | 657.34 | 7 |
| 2 | MPSF | 380.83 | 5 |
| 3 | Big 12 | 351.54 | 5 |
| 4 | ACC | 314.93 | 4 |
| 5 | Big Ten | 288.21 | 3 |
| 6 | American | 105.86 | |
| 7 | Mid-American | 77.69 | |
| 8 | Big East | 66.60 | |
| 9 | Mountain West | 51.76 | |
| 10 | Conference USA | 41.83 | |
| Men’s Regional Index Leaders | |||
| Region | Institution | Points | Last Week |
| Great Lakes | Indiana | 364.01 | 1 |
| Mid-Atlantic | Penn State | 448.85 | 1 |
| Midwest | Nebraska | 317.02 | 1 |
| Mountain | BYU | 408.59 | 1 |
| Northeast | Cornell | 334.22 | 1 |
| South | Georgia | 318.55 | 1 |
| South Central | Texas A&M | 492.35 | 1 |
| Southeast | Virginia | 283.07 | 1 |
| West | Oregon | 344.53 | 1 |
| View All Regional Rankings | |||
