Tight Top-Five Races Developing in Division II Outdoor T&F National Team Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – Ashland’s men and Adams State’s women both moved to No. 4 at the leading edge of the changes in the week five Division II National Team Computer Rankings released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The top three teams from last week remained the same in both the men’s and women’s rankings, and the aforementioned Ashland and Adams State squads were the only two new top-five teams this week.

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, 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.

Men’s Top Five 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Saint Augustine’s 290.19 pts Adams State 194.50 pts TAMU-Kingsville 185.45 pts Ashland 174.32 pts Chico State 149.23 pts View Complete Men’s Rankings

Led by National Athlete of the Week Drew Windle’s historic 1:46.91 performance at 800 meters, No. 4 Ashland soared straight into the thick of the battle for spots No. 2 through No. 4 behind defending national outdoor team champion Saint Augustine’s (290.19 team rankings score).

No. 2 Adams State (194.50) and No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville (185.45) remained relatively steady from a week ago, while the Eagles (174.32) improved three spots from last time and saw its team rankings score improve by nearly 70 points.

No. 5 Chico State (149.23) dropped one position to make room for Ashland’s ascent.

Another big top-10 mover was No. 8 Pittsburg State, which improved five spots from last time.

Women’s Top Five 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) GVSU 201.12 pts Johnson C. Smith 163.47 pts Lincoln (Mo.) 162.18 pts Adams State 155.23 pts Angelo State 150.99 pts View Complete Women’s Rankings

Five is also the number of positions the Adams State women climbed to reach the No. 4 rank on the women’s side.

Behind the power of Kayon Robinson’s fourth-ranked performance at 200 meters in 23.71 and several other top-15 sprints performances, the Grizzlies (155.23) improved their team score by more than 44 points.

The move put ASU in the midst of a tight top five battle headed by No. 1 Grand Valley State (201.12), whic bolstered its position by nearly 16 points.

Little more than 12 rankings points separate the next four teams: No. 2 Johnson C. Smith (163.47), No. 3 Lincoln (Mo.) (162.18), No. 4 Adams State and No. 5 Angelo State (150.99), which slipped one spot from a week ago.

While the top half of the top ten was relatively unchanged, the bottom half underwent more of an overhaul. No. 6 Chico State remained steady, but No. 7 Saint Augustine’s fell two positions from last week while No. 8 Ashland and No. 9 Central Missouri were both up two. Cal State Stanislaus rounded out the top 10 after a three-slot drop.

Making the biggest move of either the men’s or women’s top 25 were the No. 21 Western State women behind collegiate high jump leader Barbara Szabo and her high-jumping teammate Susan Jackson.

No. 24 Lake Erie was up 24 positions for the most significant move on the men’s side, also powered by a high jumper in second-ranked Edward Dudley.