2017 NCAA DII Women’s Outdoor Team Rankings – Week 2

NOTE: Only USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for rankings. Please check your membership status HERE.

NEW ORLEANS — While Angelo State remained the leader of the pack, the next 9 spots in the 2nd week of the NCAA Division II women’s team rankings – as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Tuesday – underwent a bit of change with another week of activity in the books.

Johnson C. Smith took advantage of a quiet week on the track and field circuit to shoot all the way to 2nd place after coming in at 10th a week ago.  Humboldt State (3rd), Chico State (4th) and Minnesota State (6th) all dropped a spot after ranking in the top-5 during the 1st rankings of the season. Cal Baptist (5th) crept into the top-5 this week, while Nova Southeastern – who came in at 4th a week ago – dropped to 9th.

Three more teams in San Francisco State (7th), Saint Augustine’s (8th) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (10th) moved into the top-10 after sitting on the outside looking in a week ago.

Angelo State remained in 1st place after a strong showing at the Wes Kittley Invitational. While there, the Rams boasted 4 top-10 NCAA Division II marks from Kami Norton (400 hurdles), Taytum Morris (pole vault) and Daisy Osakue (shot put and discus). Osakue’s mark of 57.49m (188-7) in the discus ranks 1st in all of NCAA Division II this year, and it stands as an Automatic Qualifying mark. The freshman’s discus mark is 11 feet further than any mark in NCAA Division II this year.

Lennox Graham has his Golden Bulls back in the top-5 once again, after having placed there in every week but one a season ago. Johnson C. Smith competed at the Winthrop ADIDAS Invitational, where the 4×100 relay squad ran the 2nd-fastest time in NCAA Division II this year at 46:00. Additionally, Fellan Ferguson recorded the 3rd-best mark in NCAA Division II in the 400 meters with a time of 55:02. Sidney Marshall (100 hurdles), Mayah Edwards (100 meters) and Kendra Clark (200 meters) all ran top-10 descending order list times in NCAA Division II over the weekend.

Cal Baptist jumped one spot to a program-best 5th place thanks in large part Berenice Cleyet-Merle’s 800 meter performance in which she ran a 2:07.73 for the 2nd-fastest time in NCAA Division II this year at the 39th Annual Aztec Open. Teammate Emeline Delanis also posted the 10th-best 1500 meter mark in NCAA Division II this season at 4:33.18.

San Francisco State came up huge at the Cal Poly Invitational, as the Gators notched 4 top-10 NCAA Division II marks in San Luis Obispo. Atiya Harvey can lay claim to two of those marks, running a 24.25 in the 200 meters (4th) while posting an 11.89 finish in the 100 meters (9th). Timarya Baynard (400 meters) and the 4×100 relay also finished with times in the top-10 on the NCAA Division II descending order lists.

More Info NCAA Division II Rankings Central
NATIONAL PDFs Top 25 | By Team | By Event Top TFRRS Qualifiers # of Top-10 Athletes by Team Rankings History This Season By Rank | All-Time	REGIONAL PDFs Top 10 | By Team | By Event #EventSquad Rankings Top-16 Summary Full Reports: By Team | By Event

Shakinah Brooks and Tia-Adana Belle were heavily responsible for Saint Augustine’s push into the top-10 after coming in at 48th during the 1st week of the season. Runners up at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships a season ago, the Falcons got an Automatic Qualifying mark in the long jump out of Brooks at 6.24m (20-5¾), good for 1st in NCAA Division II, at the Weems Baskins Invitational. Belle recorded a time of 13.82 (2nd in NCAA Division II) in the 100 hurdles while also running a 24.34 (6th) in the 200 meters.

Texas A&M-Commerce rose one spot to 10th after Rachael Somoye posted a 53.05m (174-0) in the hammer throw, good for 18th in NCAA Division II.

Those who dropped in the top-10 can attribute that to limited participation over the weekend.

Humboldt State’s women’s team did not compete this past week, while Chico State’s top mark of the week came in the 4×100 relay at the American River Invitational, where the team put together a time of 3:51.96 to rank 18th in NCAA Division II. Minnesota State only sent four women to the Ashely Nally Heptathlon. Nova Southeastern’s lone top-20 mark came from Julia Riedl in the long jump at the Embry-Riddle First Chance-Last Chance meet, where she posted a leap of 5.76m (18-10¾) for the 14th-best long jump mark in NCAA Division II.

UC San Diego fell five spots to 12th, despite Claudia Cox’s 400 hurdle time of 1:01.26 at the 39th Annual Aztec Invitational. Concordia (8th to 13th) also dropped, even though USTFCCCA Women’s Division II Female Athlete of the Week McKenzie Warren recorded the 6th-best shot put mark in NCAA Division II history (17.26m/56-7½) this past weekend at the Willamette Invitational.

Academy of Art (9th to 22nd) fell out of the top-10 after not competing this past weekend.

Queens (N.C.) jumped 27 spots in the rankings to 17th after split-team competitions this past weekend. Distance runners Natane Deruytter (10,000 meters) and Hannah Wikenhauer (5,000 meters) posted top-15 marks in their respective events at the Raleigh Relays, while Danielle Konopelski, Ella Fox and Johanna Schonecker now own the 2nd, 3rd and 16th-best marks in the javelin in NCAA Division II after strong showings at the Winthrop ADIDAS Invitational.

The 2017 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, from May 25-27. Check back at www.USTFCCCA.org each week throughout the season for updated rankings.

Women’s #EventSquad Leaders (Best Foursome in the Country By Event)