2022 NCAA DI Women’s Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 7
NEW ORLEANS – And then there was one.
Here is the Pre-Championships edition of the NCAA Division I Women’s Indoor Track & Field National TFRI for the 2022 season, as released on Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Let this serve as a team preview of the 2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships that will take place this weekend in Birmingham, Alabama.
NCAA Division I — Women's Indoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Florida2
Arkansas3
Texas4
LSU5
KentuckyAll TFRI Reports
Florida will head to Birmingham as the favorite to win the NCAA title. Of the Gators’ 12 entries that sit among the season’s top-10, seven of them rank among the top-5, including three national leaders from Jasmine Moore in both the long jump and triple jump and Anna Hall in the pentathlon. Grace Stark is ranked second in the 60 and third in the 60H and could provide the Gators with big points in those events. Natricia Hooper and Talitha Diggs are the other two athletes ranked among the top-5 in their events: Hooper is second in the triple jump behind Moore; Talitha Diggs is third in the 400.
Defending champion Arkansas will enter the meet as the second-ranked with a gender-high 17 entries across 10 events. In addition to the top-ranked 4×400 relay and distance medley relay, the Razorbacks have nine individual athletes that rank among the top-10 seasonal performers. Expect a big weekend from Britton Wilson (400) and Shafiqua Maloney (800), as they are both ranked second in their events and tote a baton on both of those relays. Lauren Gregory will also be seen across multiple events, as she enters the meet ranked fifth in the 3000, sixth in the 5000 and part of the DMR.
Texas is ranked third with the second-most entries at 16 and has seven top-5 seasonal performers. Julien Alfred is the highest-ranking Longhorn as she enters the meet ranked second in the 60. Additional Longhorn sprinters that boast top-5 billing are Kynnedy Flannel and Rhasidat Adeleke, as they are both tied for fifth in the 200, and the fourth-ranked 4×400. In the field events, Kristine Blazevica is second in the pentathlon while Tyra Gittens (high jump) and Ackella Smith (triple jump) are ranked third.
Fourth-ranked LSU has 11 entries for the NCAA Championships. Six of those reside in the top-5, including a pair of national leading marks from Alia Armstrong in the 60 and 60H. The Tigers also have Lisa Gunnarsson ranked second in the pole vault, Abigail O’Donoghue (high jump) and Favour Ofili (200) are ranked third and Katy-Ann McDonald sitting fourth in the 800.
Kentucky will round out the top-5 and eye a podium finish. The Wildcats may only have eight entries for the NCAA Championships, but they pack some punch as six of them are ranked among the top-6 on the seasonal chart. Abby Steiner headlines the team as the top seed in the 200 with her collegiate record and second in the 60, while Alexis Holmes has the top time in the 400. The Wildcats also have fourth-ranked Karimah Davis in the 200, sixth-ranked Masai Russell in the 60H and their third-ranked 4×400 relay set to compete in Birmingham.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in the Pre-Championships edition with their entry totals listed: No. 6 Virginia Tech (seven), No. 7 Ole Miss (seven), No. 8 Texas A&M (eight), No. 9 Texas Tech (nine) and No. 10 NC State (eight).
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