Multiple Changes To NAIA Rankings Outside Of Top-5 Teams
NEW ORLEANS — When it comes to NAIA Outdoor Track & Field, there is no doubt that Indiana Tech is the favorite.
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After all, the Warriors have been the top-ranked team in both the men’s and women’s rankings since the start of the season.
QUICK LINKS: Men’s Rankings | Women’s Rankings
But what about those teams jockeying for position behind Indiana Tech? Well, that’s where it gets interesting after the most recent rankings were released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The most movement came in the top-10 of the women’s rankings, where Siena Heights (Mich.) and British Columbia continued their climb. The Huskies went from No. 10 to No. 3 this week, while the Thunderbirds jumped to 5th from 12th.
Now the women’s top-4 looks like it did throughout most of the indoor season: The Warriors in the lead, followed by Concordia (Neb.), Siena Heights (Mich.) and Doane (Neb.).
Elsewhere in the women’s rankings, St. Francis (Ill.) and Southern-New Orleans (La.) caught lightning in a bottle and shot up the list. The former went from No. 37 to No. 13, while the latter surged from No. 41 to No. 14.
In the men’s rankings, the top-6 is identical from last week with Indiana Tech in the front and Saint Mary (Kan.) coming in sixth. Behind Saint Mary (Kan.), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) jumped three spots from No. 10 to No. 7 and then Siena Heights (Mich.) went from outside the top-35 (No. 38) to No. 9 in the span of a week.
Overall, there were three new additions to the top-25 of the men’s rankings, compared to five in the women’s.
The 2016 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held May 26-28 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
USTFCCCA NAIA |
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Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25) |
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2015 Week #3 — April 20 |
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| next ranking: April 27 | |||||
| Rank | Institution | Points | Conference | Head Coach (Yr) | Last Week |
| 1 | Indiana Tech | 603.87 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Doug Edgar (7th) | 1 |
| 2 | Wiley (Texas) | 323.50 | Red River | Micah Tirop (3rd) | 2 |
| 3 | Concordia (Neb.) | 267.97 | Great Plains | Kregg Einspahr (24th) | 3 |
| 4 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 266.03 | Sooner Athletic | Brian Whitlock (1st) | 4 |
| 5 | British Columbia | 249.63 | Independent | Marek Jedrzejek (15th) | 5 |
| 6 | Saint Mary (Kan.) | 221.04 | Kansas Collegiate | Josh Webb (1st) | 6 |
| 7 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 200.17 | Chicagoland | Michael McDowell (15th) | 10 |
| 8 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 199.34 | Mid-South | Jamaine Gordon (3rd) | 7 |
| 9 | Siena Heights (Mich.) | 187.54 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Tim Bauer (32nd) | 38 |
| 10 | Marian (Ind.) | 181.24 | Crossroads | Mike Holman (4th) | 12 |
| 11 | Doane (Neb.) | 180.18 | Great Plains | Ed Fye (14th) | 8 |
| 12 | Eastern Oregon | 172.29 | Cascade | Ben Welch (12th) | 11 |
| 13 | Oklahoma City | 163.57 | Sooner Athletic | Conor Holt (5th) | 16 |
| 14 | Southern-New Orleans (La.) | 149.70 | Gulf Coast | Yhann Plummer (3rd) | 25 |
| 15 | Indiana Wesleyan | 144.29 | Crossroads | John Foss (29th) | 18 |
| 16 | Bethel (Ind.) | 143.08 | Crossroads | Tony Natali (18th) | 21 |
| 17 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | 138.90 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Rod Wortley (18th) | 13 |
| 18 | McPherson (Kan.) | 133.20 | Kansas Collegiate | Cameron Magnall (5th) | 14 |
| 19 | Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 126.48 | Great Plains | Nate Treinen (9th) | 28 |
| 20 | Southern Oregon | 125.16 | Cascade | Grier Gatlin (5th) | 9 |
| 21 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 123.38 | Frontier | Mike Collins (19th) | 32 |
| 22 | Friends (Kan.) | 111.77 | Kansas Collegiate | Damian Smithhisler (4th) | 15 |
| 23 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 111.49 | Heart of America | Nate Wiens (1st) | 17 |
| 24 | Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) | 108.93 | Chicagoland | Joel Pearson (2nd) | 19 |
| 25 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 95.61 | Chicagoland | Jeff Barker (4th) | 24 |
| dropped out: No. 20 Baker (Kan.), No. 22 Rio Grande (Ohio), No. 23 Northwest Christian (Ore.) | |||||
| View All Teams Beyond the Top 25 | |||||
USTFCCCA NAIA |
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Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25) |
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2015 Week #3 — April 20 |
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| next ranking: April 27 | |||||
| Rank | Institution | Points | Conference | Head Coach (Yr) | Last Week |
| 1 | Indiana Tech | 527.60 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Doug Edgar (7th) | 1 |
| 2 | Concordia (Neb.) | 392.60 | Great Plains | Kregg Einspahr (24th) | 2 |
| 3 | Siena Heights (Mich.) | 312.55 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Kirk Richards (4th) | 10 |
| 4 | Doane (Neb.) | 256.72 | Great Plains | Ed Fye (14th) | 3 |
| 5 | British Columbia | 250.49 | Independent | Marek Jedrzejek (15th) | 12 |
| 6 | Biola (Calif.) | 248.72 | Golden State | Sean Henning (1st) | 6 |
| 7 | The Master’s (Calif.) | 245.70 | Golden State | Zach Schroeder (8th) | 4 |
| 8 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 226.57 | Sooner Athletic | Brian Whitlock (1st) | 8 |
| 9 | Friends (Kan.) | 220.18 | Kansas Collegiate | Cole Davis (5th) | 11 |
| 10 | Carroll (Mont.) | 211.78 | Frontier | Harry Clark (3rd) | 9 |
| 11 | Wiley (Texas) | 195.02 | Red River | Micah Tirop (3rd) | 5 |
| 12 | Northwest Christian (Ore.) | 187.33 | Cascade | George Walcott (3rd) | 7 |
| 13 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 153.36 | Chicagoland | Jeff Barker (4th) | 37 |
| 14 | Southern-New Orleans (La.) | 148.64 | Gulf Coast | Yhann Plummer (3rd) | 41 |
| 15 | Missouri Baptist | 142.65 | American Midwest | Patricia Hanna (6th) | 17 |
| 16 | Dillard (La.) | 136.30 | Gulf Coast | Bobby Williams (7th) | 16 |
| 17 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 134.44 | Chicagoland | Michael McDowell (15th) | 22 |
| 18 | Hastings (Neb.) | 129.31 | Great Plains | Ryan Mahoney (3rd) | 13 |
| 19 | Shawnee State (Ohio) | 117.82 | Mid-South | Eric Putnam (10th) | 14 |
| 20 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 117.11 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Dave Wood (20th) | 31 |
| 21 | Taylor (Ind.) | 115.33 | Crossroads | David Neville (2nd) | 57 |
| 22 | Oklahoma City | 115.10 | Sooner Athletic | Conor Holt (5th) | 21 |
| 23 | Westmont (Calif.) | 101.85 | Golden State | Russell Smelley (37th) | 15 |
| 24 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | 96.16 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Rod Wortley (18th) | 23 |
| 25 | Marian (Ind.) | 92.43 | Crossroads | Mike Holman (4th) | 46 |
| dropped out: No. 18 Corban (Ore.), No. 19 Langston (Okla.), No. 20 Brenau (Ga.), No. 24 College of Idaho, No. 25 Southwestern (Kan.) | |||||
| View All Teams Beyond the Top 25 | |||||
