Saint Augustine’s Men, Lincoln (Mo.) Women Steady At No. 1 in DII Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – The Saint Augustine’s men and Lincoln (Mo.) women retain their spots atop the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II National Team Computer Rankings released Tuesday.

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Saint Augustine’s was able to grow its lead over No. 2 Grand Canyon while defending champion No. 3 Adams State made gains toward the top, and the women’s top five all bridged the gap between themselves and Lincoln.

Preseason national team rankings are calculated using data from previous seasons as a base of evaluation. Marks gained in the early part of this season will supersede previous-year marks if they are superior. Read more about the process here. The “event rankings” referenced in this article include this season’s marks in addition to returners’ marks from 2012.

Saint Augustine’s Holds On to No. 1 with Defending Champ Adams State Getting Closer

The Falcons were able to gain 1.17 net points for a team total of 235.05 as a handful of student-athletes were able to improve their positions within the event rankings top 10, which include the top 2012 marks of returning student-athletes. Junior Elhadji Mbow moved to No. 1 in the 400 hurdles with a 50.53 at the Pepsi Florida Relays and junior Moussa Dembele improved to No. 4 in the 110 hurdles in 13.96.

No. 2 Grand Canyon slid 8.66 team points to a total of 218.74, despite a pair of strong performances in the sprints from junior Fred Taylor and freshman Dario Horvat. Taylor moved to No. 3 in the 200 meter event rankings with a 20.85 (converted for altitude to 20.92) and Horvat debuted at 15 with a 21.09 (21.16 with altitude) at the Don Kirby Tailwind Invitational.

Adams State took advantage of Grand Canyon’s slip to move within nine points of the second spot, gaining 6.83 net points for a total of 210.63. The biggest factor in the rankings was freshman sprinter Chaz Butler moving from 14th to seventh at 100 meters in the event rankings with a 10.36 (10.39 with altitude) at the Don Kirby Tailwind Invitational.

Findlay remained at No. 4 after an 8.47 point net loss to 134.48, while Ashland jumped three spots to No. 5 with a 16.31 net gain to 130.84.

The Field Gains on No. 1 Lincoln (Mo.) Women

Lincoln slipped 6.82 team points to 281.12, as a number of student-athletes made incremental improvements on their places in the event rankings — which include the top 2012 marks of returning student-athletes — and teams below the Blue Tigers in the rankings moved up.

No. 2 Adams State moved up 7.71 points to 209.59 behind junior Kayon Robinson’s 23.38 (converted to 23.45 for altitude), which stands at No. 2 in the event rankings, and juniors Alicia Nelson’s and Alyssa Selve’s No. 8 and 9 ranked 1500 performances at 4:33.95 (4:27.68 converted) and 4:34.13 (4:27.86 converted), respectively.

Grand Canyon increased its net score by 15.49 points to 187.57 behind a number of student-athletes who increased their positions within the event rankings, most notably junior Samantha Bogatz at both 100 and 200 meters and sophomore Vanessa Levy in the discus.

Defending champion Grand Valley State improved 10.12 net points to 152.00 behind two improved performances in the hammer throw from senior Sam Lockhart to No. 3 in the event rankings and Laura Schroeder to No. 10.

Indoor champion Academy of Art moved up three places to No. 5 with a 30.12 net point boost for a team score of 145.82. Senior Vashti Thomas’ long jump and triple jump performances at the Sun Angel Classic were the driving force behind the improvement.