2019 NCAA DII Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 9
NEW ORLEANS – With the majority of the division’s conference championships taking place the week before and only three on the docket this past weekend, one could’ve guessed there wasn’t much change to be had throughout the charts of the latest NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Rating Index released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday.
In the three NCAA DII outdoor championship meets, the Shippensburg men and Slippery Rock women won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), the Minnesota State men and U-Mary women were crowned out of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and the Western Washington men and Seattle Pacific women took the titles in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).
The rest of the nation had to decide whether the best for its athletes would be rest or trying to achieve any late-season marks through a last-chance meet. With the 2019 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships just 11 days away in Kingsville, Texas (May 23-25), the majority of the country chose rest which let to the low movement this week.
There is just one more DII Track & Field National Rating Index that will be released before the national championship meet. It will be released on Monday, May 20.
NCAA Division II — Men's Outdoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Angelo State
Angelo State
2
East Texas A&M
East Texas A&M
3
Texas A&M-Kingsville
Texas A&M-Kingsville
4
Lincoln (Mo.)
Lincoln (Mo.)
5
West Texas A&M
West Texas A&M
All TFRI Reports
For a program record eight consecutive weeks, Angelo State was once again selected as the No. 1 team in the Men’s National Rating Index.
The Rams won its second consecutive Lone Star Conference outdoor title a week ago and used the past weekend to try to get a few more athletes into the upcoming national championship meet at the ACU Last Chance.
There was no rest for No. 2 Texas A&M-Commerce who added or improved on three individual marks in the TFRI as it had athletes go at both the West Texas A&M Last Chance and ACU Last Chance meets. The moved paid off for Joseph Brown (now second in the nation in the discus and 27th in the hammer) and Timon Kemboi (seventh overall in the 800), a week after the program finished second at the Lone Star Conference Championships. With the performances the team was able to move up one spot from the previous week.
Falling one into the No. 3 position was Texas A&M-Kingsville after it had a select group of athletes run at the ACU Last Chance meet, a week after it finished fourth at the Lone Star Conference Championships. The most notable performances came from the group’s 4×400 and 4×100 squads who are now 15th and 29th in the nation, respectively.
Holding steady in the No. 4 spot was Lincoln (Mo.) who competed at the Sam Williams Twilight Qualifier over the weekend. The Blue Tigers finished fourth at the MIAA Outdoor Championships the week prior.
Completing the top-5 at No. 5 was West Texas A&M after it had two athletes post national marks over the weekend at its Last Chance meet. Butre Rugenerwa is now fifth in the nation in the 800 while Ezekiel Kipchirchir is now 22nd in the steeple. The Texans placed third at the Lone Star Conference Championships.
The rest of the top-10 was rounded out by Ashland, Grand Valley State, Colorado School of Mines, Adams State and Central Missouri.
There was barely any change at all at the top of the charts as only two teams in the top-14 experienced any movement from the week before (and that was just the No. 2 and No. 3 teams flip-flopping spots).
The 11 teams in the No. 15-25 spots did have a good shake up though as every team in that range switched positions from the previous index.
Out of this group, the best improvement was had by No. 16 Shippensburg with a 14-spot rise after it won the PSAC Championships, its highest rank since 2016. Western Colorado, coming in at No. 21, took a large jump itself with a 13-spot leap after adding to its index rating with top showings at the West Texas A&M Last Chance meet. Lee (Tenn.) also moved up eight into the No. 24 spot.
Overall the best gain of the week went to No. 93 Stonehill after a 42-spot improvement. Alaska Anchorage has the next best showing as it climbed 32 spots from No. 69 to No. 37.
Three previously unranked teams joined the index this week, led by No. 105 Southern Indiana.
NCAA Division II — Women's Outdoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State
2
Lincoln (Mo.)
Lincoln (Mo.)
3
Adams State
Adams State
4
Missouri Southern
Missouri Southern
5
Angelo State
Angelo State
All TFRI Reports
Grand Valley State made it seven weeks in a row at the top of the Women’s National Rating Index.
The Lakers were one of the most traveled teams in the nation as starting last Tuesday (May 7), the program had athletes compete at six last chance meets, which included hosting one of its own. The best performances from the weekend went to Mary Hecksel (now 10th in the nation in the discus), Holly McKinney (14th in the steeple) and Hanna Groeber (14th in the 5000).
The Lakers previously won the GLIAC Outdoor Championships the week prior.
Holding in the No. 2 spot was Lincoln (Mo.) after the program had a few athletes go at the Sam Williams Twilight Qualifier on Saturday. No new marks were added to the index. The Blue Tigers placed third at the MIAA Championships.
Adams State held steady in the No. 3 ranking after it had a couple of athletes compete at the Oxy Invitational this past weekend.
HaLeigh Hunter-Galvan posted the 11th-best time in the country in the steeple while Malena Grover added the 15th best showing in the 5000. The Grizzlies won the RMAC Outdoor Championships back in the last week of April.
Missouri Southern was the No. 4 program once again as it too had a small group of athletes out competing this weekend.
The Lions had Katelyn Mooney post the 13th-best performance in the javelin this season and Alexis Kuehl was right behind here as she added the 22nd-best showing. The team finished second overall at the MIAA Outdoor Championships.
Finishing up the top-five at No. 5 was Angelo State as the Rams had a select group of athletes at the ACU Last Chance meet. The program added three new individual performances to the index a week after winning the Lone Star Outdoor Championships.
The rest of the top-10 was completed in the following order; SF State, West Texas A&M, Saint Augustine’s, Texas A&M-Commerce and Alaska Anchorage.
If one was looking for heavy change they came to the wrong place as only two of the top-13 teams experienced any type of change from the previous index. Overall the top-25 saw 12 ranked programs move around in ranking from the week before.
The largest improvement by a top-25 program was a six-spot rise by No. 14 Central Washington, the best mark for the school since the Week 2 rankings of the 2014 season. Saint Augustine’s also saw a three-spot improvement.
Overall the biggest gain of the week belonged to No. 67 Fayetteville State who shot up 67 spots from No. 114 in the previous edition of the index. No. 69 Tusculum was next with a 63-spot improvement while No. 51 Winston-Salem State experienced a rise of 51.
Seven previously unranked teams joined the charts this week with the highest being No. 97 Clayton State.
