Balance Of Power Shifts In NCAA DI Rankings After Conference Championship Weekend

NEW ORLEANS — The balance of power in the NCAA Division I Women’s Outdoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings shifted from state to state but remained in the SEC following a weekend filled with conference championships.

NCAA Division I National Team Rankings Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Arkansas Kentucky Oregon Southern California Kansas State 341.00 pts 340.94 pts 253.52 pts 211.34 pts 208.27 pts View Complete Women’s National Team Computer Rankings

After ceding the No. 1 spot to Kentucky the past two weeks, the Arkansas Razorbacks jumped back on top after capturing an SEC title. This is the eighth time in the past two years that Lance Harter’s team has been ranked No. 1 nationally (five alone in 2016).

The lead for Arkansas over the second-ranked Wildcats in the most recent rankings released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is incredibly small, though — like 0.06 points small (341.00 to 340.94).

As a refresher, points in the National Team Computer Rankings are based on national descending order lists from the current season. The higher an athlete is ranked on the chart, the more points she provides her team.

Two performances stood out this past weekend for the Razorbacks and both came in the steeplechase. Jessica Kamilos clocked the nation’s third fastest time (9:48.16) in the event to win the SEC title by three seconds, while freshman Devin Clark is currently ranked 10th in the nation following her 9:54.83.

Kentucky added two strong marks to its haul following a third-place finish at SECs. Destiny Carter is now ranked second in the nation at 200 meters thanks to a windy 22.41 and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn is also runner-up at 100 hurdles (12.69).

While the Kentucky Wildcats fell one spot, the Kansas State Wildcats soared four slots (No. 9 to No. 5) but it came at a cost. Multi-event standout Akela Jones, who is tops in the nation in the heptathlon (6307), high jump (1.95m/6-4¾) and second in the long jump (6.75m/22-1¾), missed the final day of competition at the Big 12 Championships due to an ankle injury. Kansas State did see Kimberly Williamson join Jones in the top-3 of the high jump with her leap of 1.87m (6-1½).

There were two other notable movers and shakers in the rankings: Florida State (up from No. 39 to No. 21) and Wisconsin (up from No. 21 to No. 18).

The Seminoles won the ACC title this past weekend and received top-10 national marks from Der’Renae Freeman and Jogaile Petrokatie in the long jump and Kellion Knibb in the discus throw.

Speaking of the discus throw, Kelsey Card keeps doing big things for the Badgers. Card strengthened her top rank in the discipline with a heave of 62.22m (204-1) at the Big 10 Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Many of these athletes are primed to compete at the NCAA Preliminaries in two weeks and should all go according to plan, they’ll travel to Eugene, Oregon from June 8-11 for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.