USTFCCCA News & Notes
NCAA DII Events to Watch on Conference Championships Weekend
NEW ORLEANS – Just like in NCAA Divisions I and III, it’s conference championship weekend in Division II. Nationally prominent team battles and individual showdowns are scheduled from the Great Lakes region all the way down South and up West and in between.
Below are some of the most intriguing from a number of conferences around the country that will have ramifications on the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships March 13-14 at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of the weekend’s action. For the details on every DII conference meet being contested this weekend, check out the USTFCCCA Conference Championships Central page.
A number of these championships will be broadcast live online. Check out our breakdown of the weekend schedule of live streams for more details.
Here are some match-ups to watch this weekend, grouped by conference alphabetically.
GLIAC – Men’s & Women’s Team Races
Both the Grand Valley State men and women have had a stranglehold on the conference meet as of late. The GVSU women haven’t lost in the past 15 years, while the men are holding on to a five year streak. But, the Lakers do not enter as the top-ranked teams nationally. Those honors belong to the No. 1 men and No. 1 women of Ashland. The No. 3 GVSU men have yet another obstacle in No. 2 Findlay and No. 9 Tiffin, while the No. 3 GVSU women will have to contend with No. 5 Hillsdale.
A more accurate look might be the USTFCCCA regional rankings, which have the GVSU men and women as sizeable favorites. Applying the national rankings formula to exclusively the Midwest region’s cumulative 2015 results, the GVSU men have the edge over Tiffin, Ashland and Findlay (though the latter three are very close). The GVSU women have a similar edge over Ashland and Hillsdale.
GLIAC – Men’s & Women’s Throws
Perhaps at any level of the NCAA, the GLIAC might have the best throws line-up of the entire conference championship meet in the country. Each of the four NCAA Division II leaders in the men’s and women’s shot put and weight throw are scheduled to compete and 21 of the combined 40 national top-10 competitors in those events will be in the field.
The men’s weight throw features two of the top weight throwers in NCAA DII history in 2015 DII leader and defending national champ Justin Welch of Findlay and No. 2 Darien Thornton, along with No. 3 Zac Ball of Ashland, No. 4 Jared Conklin of Ashland, No. 8 Bryn Campbell of Ashland and No. 10 Jay Lechner of GVSU. Welch, Thornton, Ball and Conklin are all farther than 21 meters this year.
Each of the other three throwing events feature No. 1 vs No. 2 matchups: Findlay’s Taylor Miller and GVSU’s Chris Saikalis in the men’s shot put; Findlay’s Kendra Averesch vs. Ashland’s Jamie Sindelar in the women’s shot put; and the Ashland duo of Shatora Lewis and Jessica Bridenthal in the women’s weight throw.
GLIAC – Men’s and Women’s Distance
Drew Windle of Ashland will be going for his third consecutive national title at 800 meters in a couple weeks’ time, but first he’ll have to get through No. 3 Ethan Barnes of GVSU and No. 6 Dillon Webster of Findlay. Last year outdoors, Webster handed Windle a rare DII loss when he upset the Eagle for the GLIAC outdoor crown after Windle attempted the 800/mile double (he won the mile).
Most intriguing in the women’s distance races is the3000, in which DII 5k leader Kristina Galat of Hillsdale will battle No. 2 Amy Cymerman of GVSU and her Laker teammates, including cross country champion Kendra Foley and third-place finisher Jessica Janecke. Another women’s event of intrigue will be the women’s mile, in which No. 3 Emily Oren of Hillsdale will square off with Foley of GVSU and former GLIAC cross country champion Samantha Johnson of Ferris State.
RMAC Men’s and Women’s Distance Events
Look for a lot of familiar names from cross country’s and track’s national scenes at this meet. Headlining the fields is the distance crew from Adams State, including multiple-time national champions Kevin Batt and Lauren Martin, as well as 2015’s DII leader in both the mile and at 5000 meters, Matt Daniels.
Batt and Daniels will both run at 3000 meters and in the distance medley relay, while Martin is slated to compete both at 3000 and 5000 meters. Batt will face off against a difficult field at 3000 meters in Western State rivals Ian Butler and Adam Sinda, along with Colorado Mines’ Phil Schneider.
RMAC Women’s Long Jump
NCAA Division II long jump record holder Shanice McPherson of New Mexico Highlands headlines the field, which features five of the nation’s top eight jumpers. McPherson will be challenged by No. 2 Stachia Reuwsaat of Chadron State, No. 3 Whitney Rowe of Colorado Mesa, teammate No. 6 Salcia Slack and No. 8 Michelle Rigsby of Colorado Mines.
RMAC Men’s and Women’s Team Battles
Forget about defending their national title; Could the Adams State women’s 13-year streak atop the RMAC be in jeopardy? The latest USTFCCCA regional rankings have the No. 13 Grizzlies as narrow favorites over No. 4 New Mexico Highlands. The Adams State men’s streak of three in a row could be in just as much peril without distance star Tabor Stevens in the lineup. The No. 4 Grizzly men were recently overtaken by No. 7 Colorado Mines in the South Central Regional Rankings.
MIAA Women’s High Jump
While the top throwing action in DII will be happening at GLIACs, the best women’s high jumping is set for the MIAA Championships. Collegiate leader Erika Kinsey of Central Missouri leads the field with hopes of improving upon her 2015-best 1.90m. Also in the field are No. 3 Emilee Iverson of Pittsburg State, No. 5 Morgan Brant of Emporia State and No. 9 Madison Smith of Central Missouri.
MIAA Men’s 200 Meters
Three of the top eight men in the DII ranks will go head-to-head at the MIAA meet. Leading that trio is No. 4 Jeffrey Fraley of Missouri Southern, ranked just ahead of No. 5 Juwan Cubit of Lindenwood and No. 8 Dukiya Tibbs of Emporia State. All of whom are within two-tenths of a second of one another.
Looking for more men’s sprints? Check out the NSIC meet, where the runaway top seed Emmanuel Matadi of Minnesota State will be in action. He’s run .08 faster than anyone else in the DII ranks this year, but his raw unconverted time is nearly half a second faster than anyone else in DII (he ran it on a banked track, while nearly everyone else has competed on a flat track).
MIAA Women’s Team Battle
Lincoln (Mo.) may be the defending outdoor national team champion from 2014; but this is indoors, and it is 2015. The national No. 8 Tigers are No. 1 in the latest Central Region rankings, but are only narrowly ahead of national No. 2 Central Missouri. A loss by Lincoln (Mo.) would snap a four-year winning streak.
Lone Star Conference Women’s Triple Jump
Three of the top four triple jumpers in the DII ranks – all of whom are separated by less than five inches – will slug it out for the LSC title in the event, setting up one of the most dramatic events of the weekend. Tarleton State’s Euphemia Edem is seeded No. 2 in the event nationally, and was runner-up at last year’s NCAA DII Outdoor Championships while competing at Stillman. Sitting right behind at No. 3 is two-time defending national indoor champion Kearah Danville of Angelo State, who was also runner-up in the event nationally two years ago outdoors and sixth a year ago.
Rounding out that group is No. 4 Malika Ouedraogo of West Texas A&M, who was the runner-up at last year’s indoor championships behind Danville.