Concordia (Ore.) Men Overtake the Outdoor T&F NAIA National Team Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – It only took one week for the NAIA National Team Computer Team Rankings to undergo their first major upheaval with a new top-ranked men’s team in Concordia (Ore.) in its week two edition released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Qualification for the NAIA Championships will not be determined in any way by these rankings, which are not officially sanctioned or endorsed by the NAIA for the 2014 season. These rankings are supported by the NAIA from the standpoint of media and entertainment purposes only.

Team rankings points do not equate to NAIA Championships team points scored at the national meet, but rather the number of student-athletes a team has near the top of the descending order list in their resepctive events and how highly they are ranked.

A description of how the system works can be found here.

Concordia (Ore.) (474.13 team rankings score) moved up one spot to No. 1 and Wayland Baptist (Texas) (459.68) jumped up two to the No. 2 position, while the inaugurally top-ranked Oklahoma Baptist men (419.17) fell three spots to No. 3.

Men’s Top Five 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Concordia (Ore.) 474.13 pts Wayland Baptist 459.68 pts Indiana Tech 428.55 pts Oklahoma Baptist 419.17 pts Southern Oregon 280.35 pts View Complete Men’s Rankings

NAIA leaders Matthew Clowes (1500) and Darien Moore (shot put) led five top-10 performers for Concordia.

Wayland Baptist improved a whopping 156 team points behind a pair of NAIA leaders from Wayne Northover (long jump/triple jump) and another from Durawn Howard (400 meters).

No. 3 Indiana Tech (428.55) and No. 5 Southern Oregon (280.35) remained in place from a week ago.

Women’s Top Five 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Indiana Tech 591.98 pts Oklahoma Baptist 430.86 pts British Columbia 406.64 pts Doane (Neb.) 323.86 pts Wayland Baptist 294.26 pts View Complete Women’s Rankings

Meanwhile in the women’s rankings, top-ranked defending outdoor champion Indiana Tech was the constant while the rankings below it shifted.

After the Warriors (591.98) was two-time defending indoor champion Oklahoma Baptist (430.86) at No. 2 after trading places with No. 3 British Columbia (406.64).

The Bison of OBU improved more than 72 points from a week ago behind an NAIA leader from Jura Levy at 200 meters and four other top-five performances this past weekend.

Rounding out the top five were a pair of teams that both improved two spots from a week ago in No. 4 Doane (Neb.) (323.86) and No. 5 Wayland Baptist (294.26).

The No. 22 Goshen (Ind.) men made this most headway this week of any top-25 team in the country after a 53-spot improvement, while the Cornerstone (Mich.) earned that distinction for the women with a 32-position increase from last week.