Ashland Men Soar to No. 1 in Eventful Division II Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – It was “moving weekend” in the NCAA Division II National Team Computer Rankings released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), as all but one team currently ranked in either gender’s top 25 remained steady.

That lone stationary team was the No. 1 Central Missouri women, who were joined at the top of the rankings by the Ashland men. These two teams have the early lead in the races for the NCAA Championships team titles, which will culminate in Allendale, Michigan, on the weekend of May 21-23.

NCAA Division II National Team Rankings Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Ashland Saint. Augustine’s Pittsburg St. Adams St.. Angelo St. View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll   NCAA Division II National Team Rankings Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Central Missouri NM Highlands Grand Valley St. Lincoln (Mo.) Azusa Pacific View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

Ashland ascended 11 spots to No. 1 with 164.71 ranking points, displacing two-time defending national champion Saint Augustine’s to the No. 2 spot. The Eagles’ Drew Windle moved to No. 1 at 800 meters – the event in which he has won five national titles – and was joined at the top of the rankings by 400-meter hurdler Elijha Owens. The two combined forces for the No. 3 4×400.

The Eagles also got big contributions from its throws corps, particularly in the hammer. Bryn Campbell moved to No. 4 to lead an Ashland group that includes five of the top nine throwers in the country.

Saint Augustine’s fell to No. 2 at 135.47 points, headlining a chase group of 10 teams that are all separated in the rankings by less than 30 points.

No. 3 Pittsburg State (134.55) moved up five spots from a week ago, while indoor champion Adams State (134.19) dropped a spot to No. 4 and Angelo State (130.55) fell two to No. 5.

The remainder of the top 10 is firmly in contention for the podium at this point in the season: No. 6 Texas A&M-Commerce (127.77), No. 7 Grand Valley State (125.56), No. 8 Chico State (119.97), No. 9 Findlay (118.85), and No. 10 West Texas A&M (114.41) – as well as No. 11 Texas A&M-Kingsville (106.63).

Central Missouri’s position atop the women’s rankings is under assault from comparatively fewer teams, but the threat is lesser only in quantity. Indoor runner-up New Mexico Highlands checked in at No. 2, moving up two spots following Salcia Slack’s NCAA Division II record in the heptathlon.

Following at No. 3 was three-time defending cross country champion Grand Valley State, which moved up six positions. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t the distance events which the Lakers are known for that propelled the improvement; of the 11 season-best performances from GVSU that impacted the rankings, nine came in the field events. Alexandra Kitz and Jamie Roberts are tied at No. 2 in the pole vault.

Moving up to No. 3 was defending outdoor national champion Lincoln (Mo.), a two-spot jump from last week into the top five. Leading the charge was second-ranked 100-meter hurdler Ladonna Richards.

Azusa Pacific fell three spots to No. 5, narrowly edging out Saint Augustine’s for the final top-five position.

Moving up farther than any other team in the rankings this week were the men of Missouri Southern, who jumped 31 spots to No. 20. The biggest gainer for the women was No. 17 Shorter, which improved 27 positions.

For all the change that took place in the National Team Rankings, very little changed atop the regional rankings. Nova Southeastern in the South Region was the lone new top-ranked men’s regional team, while three new women’s teams took over their regions: Shippensburg in the Atlantic, New Haven in the East and Nova Southeastern in the South.