Teams Continue to Play “Hot Potato” With No. 1 Ranking in NCAA DI Women’s ITF

NEW ORLEANS — One performance can impact the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Computer Rankings in a big way.

NCAA Division I National Team Rankings Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Oregon Georgia Florida Arkansas Texas 156.38 pts 153.20 pts 152.14 pts 138.16 pts 95.07 pts View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

Just ask the Oregon Ducks what Raevyn Rogers‘ historic run this past weekend at the Millrose Games did for them.

Rogers, the 2015 NCAA 800-meter champ outdoors, blistered The Armory track over the same distance. The sophomore clocked the second fastest time in collegiate history (2:00.90), falling just shy of the collegiate record (2:00.75).

Thanks to Rogers’ incredible effort, Oregon leapfrogged Florida and is the No. 1 team in the nation with less than three weeks remaining until the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. This is also the final week of the regular season, which means athletes have until Sunday to qualify for a spot in Birmingham, Alabama.

Georgia, last week’s No. 3 team, also jumped the Gators. That pushes Florida, last week’s No. 1 team, down to No. 3.

The race for No. 1 is incredibly close, too. The Ducks (156.38), the Bulldogs (153.20) and the Gators (152.14) are all separated by a total of 4.14 points.

Points in the National Team Computer Rankings are tabulated by a formula based on the descending order list. The higher ranked an athlete is, the more points she provides her team. Rankings points, however, don’t equate with NCAA championship team points — they just serve as a predictor for those teams that could do well at the championship level.

If you want to learn more about the National Team Computer Rankings, a full description can be found here.

The National Team Computer Rankings shouldn’t be referred to as a “poll,” as no voting occurs during the process.

This is the first time since Week 5 in 2014 that Oregon has been ranked No. 1. That same year the Ducks won their fifth national title in a row, matching the streak LSU put together from 1993 until 1997.

For Oregon to win its sixth national championship, it will have to fend off a bevy of contenders, namely Georgia, Florida and Arkansas — the three teams, along with the Ducks, with more than 100 points in the National Team Computer Rankings.

Another team making headway this week was Michigan, which moved up three spots from No. 9 to No. 6. The Wolverines are just 2.97 points from the top-5. This is Michigan’s first time in the top-6 since 2009.

This past weekend was a big one for the Wolverines, as their distance medley relay team of Maya Long, Shannon Osika, Danielle Pfeifer and Jaimie Phelan ran the nation’s third fastest time of the season at Notre Dame’s Alex Wilson Invitational (10:58.25).

LSU took advantage of its home meet this past weekend and climbed 10 spots (No. 22 to No. 12). The Tigers saw Mikiah Brisco and Daeshon Gordon nab the fourth and sixth fastest times of the season in the 60 hurdles.

There were two new additions to the top-25 this week — No. 23 New Mexico (up from No. 33 last week) and No. 24 Baylor (up from No. 30). This is the best ranking for the Lobos in program history, while the Bears have a little bit to go to get theirs (No. 7 in 2008).