GVSU Women Jump to No. 1 in Division II Outdoor T&F National Team Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – For the first time since winning the second of back-to-back Division II outdoor national titles in 2012, the Grand Valley State women have surged to the No. 1 spot in the week four edition of the DII National Team Computer released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The Lakers improved five positions from their 2014 debut at No. 6 a week ago to supplant Johnson C. Smith – now at No. 2 – as the nation’s top-ranked team, while the defending national champion Saint Augustine’s men maintained a sizeable lead over a No. 2 Adams State squad that debuted many of its top distance runners this past weekend.

The National Team Computer Rankings for Division II are a reflection of performances that have been recorded only during the 2014 outdoor track & field season.

While some teams have been competing outdoors regularly since February and many have only recently opened up their spring campaigns.

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.

Women’s Top Five 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) GVSU 185.53 pts Johnson C. Smith 171.61 pts Lincoln (Mo.) 162.25 pts Angelo State 133.96 pts Saint Augustine’s 132.67 pts View Complete Women’s Rankings

Top-ranked pole vaulter Kristen Hixson, along with fourth-ranked Hannah Osborn (steeplechase) and Kalena Franklin (100-meter hurdles), propelled the GVSU women (185.53 team rankings score) to a 74-point improvement in the rankings.

That was enough to outpace Johnson C. Smith’s 14-point improvement to 177.61 at No. 2.

As big as GVSU’s move to the top was, it was bettered by 2009 champion Lincoln (Mo.)’s 13-position leap to No. 3 with 162.25 team rankings points – nearly 95 points better than a week ago.

The Blue Tigers have finished runners-up in three of the past four NCAA Championships after winning six of seven titles from 2003 through 2009.

Angelo State (133.96), the 2010 team champion, dropped one spot to No. 4, while Saint Augustine’s (132.67) fell three positions to round out the top five.

Defending champion Academy of Art is ranked No. 8, down three from last week.

Men’s Top Five 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Saint Augustine’s 313.33 pts Adams State 186.78 pts TAMU-Kingsville 178.84 pts Chico State 162.06 pts Colorado Mines 118.80 pts View Complete Men’s Rankings

Paced by world-leading National Athlete of the Week Roxroy Cato and other strong performances at the Florida Relays, the Saint Augustine’s men (313.33) improved their team score by more than 38 points from a week ago. The Falcons have now been No. 1 in eight of the past 14 weeks.

However, Saint Augustine’s – the winners of three of the past five team titles – lost some of their advantage over new No. 2 Adams State (186.78), the winner of the 2012 team crown.

The Grizzlies got a collegiate leader from Tabor Stevens in the steeplechase and a top-ranked DII 5000 meters from Kevin Batt along with a pair of top-10 runs at 10,000 meters to improve nearly 52 points from a week ago to slide up to the second spot.

No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville (178.84) dropped one spot as a result.

Chico State (162.06) held steady at No. 4 but did manage to better its rankings score by nearly 50 points to keep pace with the top two teams. Colorado Mines (118.80) moved up one spot to No. 5.

Making the biggest move of the week into the top 25 were the Livingstone women, who catapulted 97 positions to No. 23 behind a DII-leading 400 and No. 2 200 by Quanera Hayes.

Also of note was No. 14 New Mexico Highlands’ 35-spot improvement from last week.

Johnson C. Smith was the big gainer on the men’s side with a 16-position leap to No. 22.