2020 NCAA DI Men’s Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 5
NEW ORLEANS – There was some movement in the top-10 of the NCAA Division I Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index ahead of what is going to be the heaviest concentration of Conference Championship Weekend.
Nothing changed to the top-6 teams, but there are new faces in spots Nos. 7-10, including one team that jumped six spots into its first top-10 ranking of the season.
NCAA Division I — Men's Indoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona
2
LSU
LSU
3
Florida
Florida
4
Texas
Texas
5
Oregon
Oregon
All TFRI Reports
Things got a bit tighter up top between No. 1 Northern Arizona and No. 2 LSU. Right now the Lumberjacks have a 5.17-point advantage on the Tigers according to the National Rating Index, down from the 7.68-point edge they owned in Week 4.
If the NCAA meet started this weekend and not in three weeks’ time, both NAU and LSU would have 10 entries. The Lumberjacks are distance-dominated with all of their potential entrants in the mile, 3000 and 5000, while the Tigers have nine in six different individual events and the other potential entry in the 4×400 relay.
As we said earlier, nothing changed in the top-6, so No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Oregon and No. 6 Georgia all take up residence behind NAU and LSU. This is the first time since 2016 that the Longhorns have been ranked in the top-5 of each of the first six iterations, while it’s the first time the Ducks have been ranked in the top-5 back-to-back weeks since 2017.
Remember that team that climbed six spots into the top-10? That would be Texas Tech.
It was at the Texas Tech Matador Qualifier this past weekend where the Red Raiders added four potential national qualifiers to their tally. Karayme Bartley notched the nation’s fifth-fastest time over 200 meters, while Brandon Bray added the sixth-best clearance in the pole vault. Texas Tech also has a top-16 athlete in the 60 (Derrius Rodgers) and its 4×400 relay currently sits No. 11 when you take out extra performances.
Tennessee improved its billing one spot from No. 9 to No. 8. Carey McLeod and Darryl Sullivan still lead the Volunteers with national-best marks in the long jump and high jump, respectively, while Jalen Tate moved up to No. 16 on the Descending Order List in the triple jump to give the program two possible entrants in that event (McLeod is ranked No. 2).
Arkansas is back inside the top-10 for the first time since the preseason, coming in at No. 10 right behind Florida State, which dropped two spots. The Razorbacks have a strong seed in the 4×400 relay at No. 3 because of two athletes who are ranked in the top-12 of the open event – Jeremy Farr (No. 6) and Jalen Brown (No. 12).
There were two new additions to the top-25 this week: No. 24 Wisconsin and No. 25 South Dakota. The Badgers scurried 24 spots since Week 4 after their DMR team clocked the third fastest time in collegiate history regardless of track size this past weekend at the Alex Wilson Invitational, while the Coyotes rode Chris Nilsen‘s collegiate record of 5.93m (19-5.5) in the pole vault to its new spot.
Be sure to check back after Conference Championship Weekend to see how much the National Rating Index changes ahead of the 2020 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships set for March 13-14 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
