Minnesota State Men & Central Missouri Women Top First Regular-Season NCAA DII Team Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – The NCAA Division II indoor track & field teams that have gotten off to the hottest starts of 2015 are the Minnesota State men and the Central Missouri women, according to the National Team Computer Rankings published Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Unlike NCAA Divisions I and III, the national rankings for Division II no longer include the top 2014 returners’ marks as part of the point system. If teams and athletes have competed, they’re in; if they haven’t, they’re not, making it a strong indicator of who’s performed the best up to this given point in the season.

Both top-ranked schools are led by this week’s DII National Athletes of the Week: Emmanuel Matadi for Minnesota State and Heavin Warner for UCM.

Lining up behind Minnesota State on the men’s side are a trio from the GLIAC in No. 2 Findlay, No. 3 Ashland and No. 4 Grand Valley State, as well as No. 5 Colorado Mines. Two-time defending national champion Saint Augustine’s currently resides at No. 11, and the distance-heavy national runner-up Adams State men are down at No. 34.

NCAA Division II National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Minnesota St. Findlay Ashland Grand Valley St. Colorado Mine View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll   NCAA Division II National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Central Missouri Ashland Lewis Hillsdale U-Mary View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

While most sprinters, jumpers and throwers have seen action already this season, many distance runners have not because of the more sparse nature of distance competition combined with the late NCAA Cross Country Championships due to the DII Fall Sports Festival. Expect the rankings to shuffle again once a majority of distance runners make their debuts.

For the women, Central Missouri is followed by No. 2 Ashland, No. 3 Lewis, No. 4 Hillsdale and No. 5 U-Mary. Defending national champion Adams State is No. 20 in this first regular-season edition of the rankings, while national runner-up Johnson C. Smith is No. 6.

Both Minnesota State and Central Missouri are bolstered by a bevy of top-ranked early-season competitors. The Mavericks of MSU have four athletes ranked No. 1 in the country and another ranked No. 2 between the sprints, hurdles and jumps, while Jennies of UCM have a pair of national leaders and three more second-ranked athletes led by throwers, jumpers and pentathletes.