Ashland Men Reclaim No. 1 as Deep Team Races Continue Brewing

NEW ORLEANS – Another week, another new No. 1 team.

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

That’s been the recent pattern of the men’s NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings, and it continued again in the week eight edition released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The men of Ashland regained top honors from two-time defending champion Saint Augustine’s, marking the fourth time in the past five weeks a different team has occupied the highest perch in the rankings.

With the regular season now down to its final weekend and with just over two weeks to go until the NCAA Championships in Allendale, Michigan, on May 21-23, the Eagles are currently very narrow favorites.

The GLIAC runners-up got big points from Jason Zahn – who moved to No. 4 in the discus and No. 10 in the shot put – to check in with 179.30 points, just 12 ahead of Saint Augustine’s at 167.53.

But by no means are those two teams clear of the rest of the field. Seven more teams checked in with team totals between 124 points and 113 points – all of whom will be viable contenders for the top-four team podium spots, if not the team title.

MIAA champ Pittsburg State (124.11) moved back up eight spots to No. 3, just ahead of another top-five returner in cross country/indoor champion No. 4 Adams State (123.42). The No. 3 Gorillas were powered by top-10 newcomers No. 6 Tanner McNutt in the decathlon and No. 7 Bo Farrow in the discus.

Holding steady at No. 5 was Texas A&M Kingsville (123.33). Rounding out that chase group were No. 6 Findlay (120.69), GLIAC Champion No. 7 Grand Valley State (118.60). No. 8 Minnesota State (115.96), and No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce (113.93).

Kingsville and Commerce will square off this weekend for the Lone Star Conference title, while Minnesota State has the NSIC Championships upcoming.

On the women’s side, the pattern has been much different, as indoor champion Central Missouri continued to reign over the rankings for the sixth week in a row.

However, for the fifth week in a row, a new team emerged as a top challenger to the Jennies, and this time it is a foe most formidable. Defending outdoor champion Lincoln (Mo.) improved seven spots following its third-place effort at the MIAA Championships.

The Blue Tigers’ ascent was powered by Ladonna Richards, Janae Johnson and its 800-meter corps. Richards took the national lead in the 100 hurdles and moved to No. 8 in the 400 hurdles, while Johnson moved to No. 2 at 100 meters and No. 6 at 200. At 800 meters, the duo of Jhevere Hall and Monique Thompson came in at No. 4 and No. 7, respectively.

Who won that conference? It wasn’t Lincoln or even top-ranked UCM. Rather, it was Pittsburg State, which climbed one position to No. 4 to give the MIAA three of the top four teams in the nation.

Sandwiched in between at No. 3 was New Mexico Highlands, which improved one position from a week ago after winning its first ever RMAC title. The Cowgirls were led by National Athlete of the Week Salcia Slack, who won three individual titles and scored an incredible 59 points.

While UCM has a nearly 50-point advantage over the rest of the field at 194.31 points, the team and podium races should still be very dramatic. No. 2 Lincoln (147.88) and No. 3 NMHU (144.55) are separated by just three points – a virtual tie – while Pittsburg State (131.75), No. 5 Saint Augustine’s (126.23), and GLIAC Champion No. 6 Grand Valley State (122.67) are all very much in the conversation.

Also in the hunt in the 100-point ballpark are No. 7 Hillsdale (108.27), No. 8 Ashland (100.79), No.9 Azusa Pacific (98.17) and No. 10 Adams State (95.55).

The regional scene was mostly quiet. Only three new teams moved to No. 1 – all women’s teams – with Pittsburg State in the Central, Shorter in the South and New Mexico Highlands in the South Central.