Team Title Races Tightening Up in NJCAA National Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – The NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships are just over a week away, and all that’s left to do in the regular season is to chase qualifying marks for one final weekend.

That’s where we stand as the penultimate edition of the National Team Computer Rankings was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

As they have been all season long, the Iowa Central CC men checked in as a decisive No. 1, while the New Mexico JC women remained narrow favorites over an increasingly crowded field.

These are the final rankings that will include all regular season marks to this point, with next Monday’s pre-championships rankings set to only include entries to the meet in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on March 4-5.

The Triton men continue to hold a significant edge of the rest of the field, but it is shrinking. ICCC checked in with 495.44 points – a 5-point improvement from last time – but defending national champion South Plains gained nearly 34 to come in at 314.53. Whether that gap reopens or continues to close when only championship entries are considered next Monday is yet to be seen.

Meanwhile, Butler (Kan.) CC moved up two spots to No. 3 (216.78 points), displacing both No. 4 Iowa Western (196.27) and No. 5 Central Arizona (196.21) one spot each.

South Plains’ defending champion women are making their gender’s race even more interesting, joining a group now made up of four teams contending for the national title.

New Mexico JC remained steady at 349.42 points, but the Texans added an impressive 107 points to their total from a week ago to climb three spots to No. 2 in the country. With 312.99 points, SPC narrowly edged out No. 3 Iowa Central CC (303.27) and No. 4 Monroe (269.11) – both of which moved down a spot each.

No. 5 Central Arizona (219.07) and No. 6 Barton County CC (208.68) both also remain in the hunt. The former fell one spot from a week ago, while the latter moved up a notch.

No team in either gender’s top-25 moved up farther than No. 25 Louisburg, which climbed six spots from last time. The No. 17 Dodge City CC women jumped up five spots from the previous rankings.