Women’s Top-5 Shakeup Marks Week 2 Division I Rankings

NEW ORLEANS–National Meet of the Week host Arkansas was the biggest beneficiary of this weekend’s action, moving up to a season-high No. 3 in the women’s rankings. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released the full NCAA Division I Computer Rankings on Monday afternoon.

The men’s top five was completely unchanged. Oregon and Florida, respectively, held down the top two spots for the second straight week, and Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Penn State occupied spots Nos. 3-5 for the third straight week.

There was less stasis in the women’s rankings. A bundle of sparkling performances at their own Razorback Invitational pushed the Hogs into the top three. Pentathlete Alex Gochenour and triple jumper Tamara Myers each posted the tenth-ranked mark in their respective events, combining for 21.28 rankings points.

And while their teammate Sandi Morris was already delivering 20+ points to Arkansas’s total, she cleared 4.65m (15-3) for the best ever pole vault clearance by a collegiate athlete at sea level.

Kentucky, Texas, and Providence came in at Nos. 6 through 8 for the second straight week. The only other change in the top ten was a flip-flop in the last two spots: Stanford jumped over Georgetown for the No. 9 rankings thanks to Jessica Tonn’s 3k at Razorback.

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

No. 13 Missouri made the biggest jump of the week in the women’s rankings, moving up 15 spots largely due to great throwing in New York. Shot putter Jill Rushin and weight thrower Kearsten Peoples set personal bests at the Armory Invitational to give the Tigers their highest ranking for either gender since the rankings began in 2008.

They were the only team to join the top 25 this week; they replaced Baylor.

None of the top six men’s teams changed places; No. 7 Nebraska and No. 8 LSU each moved up a place over now-No. 9 Stanford. Those three teams are some of the most tightly packed in the rankings, with only five points separating the trio.

Four team’s joined the men’s top 25 this week: No. 10 Virginia Tech, No. 22 Kennesaw State, No. 23 TCU, and No. 25 BYU. The latter duo catapulted into the top 25 from the 60s; TCU’s rise can be credited to two sprinters, while BYU got their points from mid-distance and distance. Horned Frogs Ronnie Baker and Sam Watts blazed their way to nationally elite sprint times (Baker in the 60, Watts in the 200) in New Mexico. BYU’s Shaquille Walker beat out multiple pros to win the 800 at Washington and his teammate Jason Witt set the meet record in the 5k there.

Virginia Tech followed a similar formula to crack the top ten for the fifth time in school history. (The Hokie men have finished in the top ten at two of the last three indoor national meets) Running on the JDL Fast Track–maybe the fastest flat 200 meter track in the country–miler Patrick Joseph and distance man Thomas Curtin ran 4:00 and 7:56 (3k) to give their team 26.36 points.

Look for meets at Notre Dame and Texas A&M this weekend to heavily factor into next week’s rankings–the final to include preseason data. The rankings will be tabulated and released every Monday afternoon between now and the March 13 NCAA Championships.