Iowa Central Tops Inaugural NJCAA Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings

NEW ORLEANS—For the first time ever, National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) indoor track & field teams are being ranked by the same algorithm used for NCAA and NAIA teams. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released the inaugural edition of the rankings on Wednesday.

The top teams were no shock: defending men’s and women’s indoor champions from Iowa Central were ranked No. 1 for both genders.

South Plains of Texas was ranked second in both computer rankings.

The men’s top teams were much more tightly bunched than the women. Behind South Plains, No. 3 Central Arizona, No. 4 Western Texas, and No. 5 Colby (Kan.) were all within 110 points of Iowa Central.

On the women’s side, Iowa Central led No. 2 by more than 180 points, and the rest of the nation by more than 200. Coffeyville of Kansas came in at No. 3, Iowa Western at No. 4, and New Mexico at No. 5.

The computer rankings will be released every Wednesday between now and the March 6-7 NJCAA Championships. You can see the entire top 25 below, and peruse the PDFs (sidebar) for each event, the top 45+ men’s and women’s junior college teams, and much more.

Click here for an explanation of how the USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings work. The point system is based on the TFRRS national descending order lists. The higher athletes are ranked, the more points they contribute to their teams. Team totals are derived from adding up the point contributions of each of their athletes. Points do not equate to NJCAA Championships scoring.