Division II Team Rankings Become Ever Tighter on the Week of National Championships

NEW ORLEANS – With the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships field set, the Adams State men and Lincoln (Mo.) women enter championship weekend as the favorites in the final U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Computer Rankings released Monday.

Adams State has held steady atop the rankings for the past four weeks, while the Lincoln (Mo.) women, after a three-week absence from the top spot, will enter the NCAA Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C., from March 14-15 exactly how they started in the preseason: at No. 1.

Women’s Top Five
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
Lincoln (Mo.) 189.61 pts 19 entries	GVSU 184.22 pts 19 entries	Adams State 172.54 pts 16 entries	Johnson C. Smith 139.23 pts 10 entries	Ashland 126.71 pts 13 entries
View Complete Women’s Rankings

The Lincoln women are the latest team to occupy the No. 1 spot, which has revolved between themselves, No. 2 Grand Valley State and No. 3 Adams State for the past five weeks. Lincoln and GVSU both moved up a spot this week, while Adams State tumbled down two positions to No. 3.

The three squads are very evenly matched both in terms of team rankings score and entries into the NCAA Championships.

The Blue Tigers (189.61 team rankings score), Lakers (184.22) and Grizzlies (172.54) are the most tightly bunched top three since the USTFCCCA Rankings began in 2010. Both Lincoln and GVSU have 19 entries into the meet, followed by Adams State’s 16.

Lincoln finds itself atop the rankings at the right time, historically, as each of the four teams that have been ranked No. 1 by the USTFCCCA computer entering the championships have ultimately won the team title.

Men’s Top Five
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
Adams State 254.54 pts 18 entries	Saint Augustine’s 217.33 pts 17 entries	Ashland 191.08 pts 17 entries	GVSU 134.78 pts 14 entries	Minnesota State 116.50 pts 10 entries
View Complete Men’s Rankings

The Adams State men (254.54) can hear the proverbial footfalls of defending national champion No. 2 Saint Augustine’s (217.33) approaching as the Falcons gear up for a title defense effort. Between their own slight gains and Adams State’s decreased team score, Saint Augustine’s closed the gap between them by more than 30 points.

With 18 entries, Adams State also boasts the largest contingent of student-athletes at the meet. Right behind are No. 2 Saint Augustine’s and No. 3 Ashland (191.08) with 17 each.

Since the beginning of the USTFCCCA Rankings in 2010, Adams State has twice competed at the NCAA Championships as the No. 1 squad in the country. Last year, it finished third overall and in 2010 it won the title.

That illustrates the larger trend as two of the four top-ranked teams since 2010, in alternating years, have ultimately claimed the title.

Rounding out the women’s top five were No. 4 Johnson C. Smith (139.23) and No. 5 Ashland (126.71), which swapped spots from a week ago.

No. 6 New Mexico Highlands (80.63) was up two spots, displacing No. 7 Angelo State (74.77) and No. 8 Central Missouri (71.74) each down one position. Stationary No. 9 Western State (64.63) and No. 10 Alaska Anchorage (57.23) completed the top 10.

Defending national champion Academy of Art did not appear in the top 25.

Finishing out the men’s top five were No. 4 Grand Valley State (134.78) and No. 5 Minnesota State (116.50), both of which remained in place from a week ago.

No. 6 Southern Connecticut (81.71) also held steady, while No. 7 Missouri Southern (75.69) and No. 8 Findlay (69.48) were both up a spot. No. 9 Neb.-Kearney (65.43) jumped up two notches, while No. 10 Texas A&M Kingsville remained stationary.

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.