Indiana Tech Men, Wayland Baptist Women Continue as NAIA No. 1s

NEW ORLEANS – The top two teams in both the men’s and women’s NAIA team computer rankings–released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)–stayed the same, while nearly every other squad moved around in the week four rankings.

The gap between men’s No. 1 Indiana Tech and No. 2 Oklahoma Baptist widened by fifty points this week, while the top of the women’s rankings saw the exact opposite action. Women’s No. 1 Wayland Baptist had its lead over No. 2 Indiana Tech narrowed by fifty-two points.

In the men’s rankings, No. 3 Concordia (Neb.) held on to its ranking and closed to within 2.07 points of Oklahoma Baptist. No. 4 British Columbia, No. 5 Southern Oregon, No. 6 Doane, No. 7 Wayland Baptist, No. 8 Concordia (Ore.), No. 9 Olivet Nazarene, and No. 10 Oklahoma City filled out the rest of the top ten.

With its thirteen-rank jump, Olivet was the biggest mover of the week. No. 21 Lewis-Clark State and No. 22 Central Methodist each jumped up five to join the men’s top twenty-five.

Behind the Wayland Baptist and ITech women, Nos. 3 and 4 British Columbia and Concordia (Neb.) switched spots. No. 5 Doane joined the top five for the first time this outdoor season after spending nearly the entire 2014 season ranked fourth. The rest of the top ten was No. 6 Oklahoma Baptist, No. 7 Embry-Riddle, No. 8 Westmont, No. 9 Cornerstone, and No. 10 Aquinas.

Just like in the men’s rankings, Olivet Nazarene made the biggest move of the week. The Tigers went from No. 30 to No. 21 to recapture their national ranking after a week outside of the top twenty-five. No. 23 Grand View of Iowa was the other team to join the women’s top twenty-five this week.

The NAIA national rankings will be released on Wednesdays between now and the May 21-23 national championships.