An Adams State Takeover in the Division II National Team Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – Both the Adams State men and women have roared to the top of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II National Team Computer Rankings released Tuesday.

A litany of top-ranked distance performances – along with a few timely, prominent sprints and hurdles performances – propelled the Grizzlies’ men back into the No. 1 spot it vacated two weeks ago and the women to their first No. 1 rank since the beginning of the USTFCCCA rankings in 2010.

This is the fifth different time the Adams State men have been No. 1 in the past two seasons.

Former men’s No. 1 Saint Augustine’s dropped a spot to No. 2, while the former top-ranked Lincoln (Mo.) women fell to No. 3. With a team rankings score of 185.07, the Adams State women barely edged out No. 2 Grand Valley State’s 184.00 for the national lead.

Men’s Top Five
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
Adams State 257.57 pts	Saint Augustine’s 204.06 pts	Ashland 177.29 pts	Minnesota State 141.47 pts	GVSU 141.34 pts
View Complete Men’s Rankings

For the Adams State men (257.57 team rankings score), the duo of Kevin Batt and Tabor Stevens – already ranked No. 1 and 2 in the mile heading into the weekend – recorded the top two times in the nation at 3000 meters to give the Grizzlies a significant boost of more than 50 team rankings points.

Saint Augustine’s (204.06) saw its team score drop nearly 11 points from last week to compound Adams State’s rise to the top.

No. 3 Ashland (177.29) also made a big push behind the fastest 800-meter-man in Division II history, Drew Windle. The Eagles’ team score improved by nearly 24 points from a week ago, though they remained steady in terms of position.

A virtual tie rounded out the top five as No. 4 Minnesota State (141.47) and No. 5 Grand Valley State (141.34) both logged improvements to their team scores.

Upward mobility was the theme for much of the rest of the top 10 as No. 6 Missouri Southern (88.41) and No. 7 Neb.-Kearney (73.12) were both up a spot from last week; No. 8 Findlay (73.06) was up three spots; and No. 9 Shippensburg (68.98) improved four positions.

Making room for all of those moves was No. 10 Southern Indiana (68.71), which tumbled four spots from a week ago.

Biggest gainer honors went to No. 18 Queens (N.C.) after a 77-position improvement from last week.

Women’s Top Five
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
Adams State 185.07 pts	GVSU 184.00 pts	Lincoln (Mo.) 180.19 pts	Ashland 145.19 pts	Johnson C. Smith 98.13 pts
View Complete Women’s Rankings

On the women’s side, a top-ranked 5000 meters from Lauren Martin and a second-ranked 3000 from Alicia Nelson were the catalysts behind Adams State (185.07) edging ahead of No. 2 Grand Valley State (184.00).

The Grizzlies improved their team score by nearly 31 points from a week ago, while the Lakers of GVSU came up just short in their bid for the top spot with a 22-point increase from last week.

Formerly top-ranked Lincoln (Mo.) fell two spots to No. 3, but remained firmly in the hunt with a team rankings score just behind Adams State and GVSU at 180.19.

Remaining steady were No. 4 Ashland (145.19), No. 5 Johnson C. Smith (98.13) and No. 6 New Mexico Highlands (85.22).

The remaining top-10 teams were all on the uptick as No. 7 Alaska Anchorage (67.40) improved 15 from last week, No. 8 Angelo State (51.59) improved one, No. 9 New Haven (49.83) improved five and No. 10 Central Missouri (49.62) improved 10.

No. 13 Cal State Stanislaus saw the biggest gain of the week for the women after climbing 25 spots from last week. National Team Computer Rankings will be complied by mathematical formulae based on national descending order lists.

The purpose and methodology of the rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national team race. Rankings points do not equate with NCAA Championships team points. A full description of the rankings can be found here.

USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings should not be referred to as a “poll” as no voting occurs during the process.