Two-Time Defending Champ Saint Augustine’s Moves to No. 1 in NCAA DII

NEW ORLEANS – Nearly a month removed from the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, a majority of teams around the country have seen most of their top athletes compete at least once.

As a result, some familiar names have emerged at the top of the National Team Computer Rankings announced Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) after early-season rankings domination by Western and Southern teams.

The two-time defending outdoor champion Saint Augustine’s men have taken over the No. 1 spot, followed closely by No. 2 Angelo State and defending indoor/cross country champion Adams State at No. 3.

Meanwhile in the women’s rankings, indoor champ No. 1 Central Missouri and No. 2 Azusa Pacific held steady in the top two spots, holding off a strong outdoor debut by No. 4 New Mexico Highlands. Just outside the top five, defending outdoor national champion Lincoln (Mo.) moved up to No. 6 after its first full-fledged weekend of competition.

Former men’s No. 1 Chico State dropped four spots to No. 5.

Unlike the NCAA Division I and III rankings (which include 2014 marks from returning athletes for the first three weeks), Division II only includes marks from the current 2015 season in its rankings formula. In the early section of this outdoor season, the rankings function more as a display of who’s performed the best to date this year and not necessarily who will be contending for the NCAA titles Memorial Day weekend in Allendale, Michigan.

Only USTFCCCA member programs are eligible to be ranked.

NCAA Division II National Team Rankings Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Saint Augustine’s Angelo St. Adams St.. TAMU-Commerce Chico St. View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll   NCAA Division II National Team Rankings Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Central Missouri Azusa Pacific Angelo St. NM Highlands Saint Augustine’s View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

The Saint Augustine’s men were boosted not only by its typical strong sprints corps – led by the top-ranked 4×400, No. 1 400-meter runner Omar Johnson and six more sprints/hurdles/relays entries ranked top-10 nationally – but also from an unexpected nation leader at 800 meters in Immanuel Hutchinson. Whether he can dethrone five-time 800m national champ Drew Windle of Ashland at NCAAs remains to be seen.

There’s still much work to be done, however, for the Falcons to separate themselves from the rest of the country. At 156.78 rankings points (see explanation of rankings here), Saint Augustine’s is only narrowly ahead of No. 2 Angelo State (151.14), No. 3 Adams State (144.23) and No. 4 Texas A&M-Commerce (141.05), and is only separated from No. 7 Texas A&M-Kingsville by just over 27 points.

A Western team that has demonstrated staying power in the rankings is No. 2 Angelo State, which moved up three spots to remain firmly in the hunt with national champions Saint Augustine’s and Adams State. The Rams got five national top-10 performances this past weekend, including No. 1 400-meter hurdler Wala Gime (who is also ranked No. 5 in the short hurdles).

From hurdles to barriers, Adams State moved up to No. 3 as two-time defending steeplechase and cross country champion Tabor Stevens made his 2015 track debut after sitting out the indoor season. At 8:32.50 he’s now the second-fastest man in Division II history.

Stevens and the rest of the Adams State distance crew combined to propel the Grizzlies to No. 3 as Oliver Aitchison took the collegiate lead at 1500 meters and Kevin Batt took the DII lead at 5000 meters. More points may be on the table depending which events each runner decides to contest at NCAAs this May.

Making the biggest splash in the women’s rankings was No. 4 New Mexico Highlands, which earned No. 1 national DII ranks in the long jump with Shanice McPherson and the triple jump with Salcia Slack, as well as in the 4×100 relay.

At the regional level, Shippensburg’s men took over the top spot in the Atlantic Region, as did Grand Valley State’s men and women in the Midwest and Alabama-Huntsville’s men and women in the South.