Quiet Week in NCAA Division I Indoor T&F National Rankings Ahead of Conference Championships

NEW ORLEANS – With most of the NCAA Division I college track & field teams ranked among the national top 25 resting or tuning up for conference championships, the week five edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Computer Rankings were likewise quiet.

With just over two weeks until the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, each of the top seven men’s and women’s teams remained constant in the rankings released Monday afternoon, headlined by the No. 1 Florida men and the No. 1 Arkansas women.

Lining up behind Florida’s men were defending champion No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 LSU and No. 7 Georgia.

Queuing up behind Arkansas’ women were No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Texas, five-time defending national champion No. 5 Oregon, No. 6 Kansas State, and No. 7 Texas A&M.

Not until spot No. 8 in either genders’ rankings was there any movement, and both were driven by their distance medley relays. Virginia Tech‘s men moved up two spots behind their No. 5 DMR, while the Baylor women moved up one behind the Bears’ No. 2 DMR.

The Penn State men and Kentucky women both dropped one spot to No. 9, while the Texas Tech men and Georgetown women moved up three and 11 spots, respectively, to round out the top 10.

Georgetown’s women were boosted by three women in the top 12 at 800 meters, including No. 4 Sabrina Southerland.

NCAA Division I National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Florida Oregon Arkansas Texas A&M Texas View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll   NCAA Division I National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Arkansas Georgia Florida Texas Oregon View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

Making big moves up the rankings on the women’s side were the No. 24 Notre Dame women, who moved up 21 spots, and the No. 20 Georgetown men improved nine.

This week’s rankings could very well be the proverbial calm before the storm, as all of the top-25 men’s and women’s teams will compete at their respective conference championship meets this weekend.

The SEC alone will have eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams at its championships this weekend in Lexington, Kentucky. Seven of those men’s teams are within the top 13, and five of those eight women’s teams are among the top nine.

The Big 12 meet this weekend in Ames, Iowa, will feature 11 top-25 teams: seven for the men and four for the women.

See the full conference-by-conference breakdowns for men and women here and here, respectively.

At the regional level, only the men’s Great Lakes region saw a change at the top, as Akron (No. 16 nationally) jumped two spots ahead of Indiana and Michigan.