2017 NCAA DI Men’s Outdoor Team Rankings – Week 8

NOTE: Only USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for rankings. Please check your membership status HERE.

NEW ORLEANS – Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the postseason in NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field.

This upcoming weekend we’ll find out which athletes will punch their tickets to the 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships as they compete at both the East and West Preliminaries in Lexington, Kentucky and Austin, Texas.

While we don’t know which athletes will secure a spot to compete at Historic Hayward Field from June 7-10, we can tell you how the Men’s National Team Computer Rankings look in Week 8 in advance of those first postseason meets.

As it has been for the past four weeks, Texas A&M and Florida headline the index.

Both the Aggies and Gators added more than 17 points to their totals, putting valuable distance between themselves and Georgia, the 3rd-ranked team for the second week in a row. Texas A&M pushed its leading total to 326.62 points, while Florida comes in at 291.30 points.

Oregon climbed back into the top-5 for the first time since Week 3 (April 17), but it comes at a cost. It was revealed that Edward Cheserek – the 17-time NCAA champion (14 track titles, 3 in cross country) – would be scratched from competition at the NCAA West Preliminary due to a lower back strain, which in turn ends his collegiate career since he won’t be able to compete at NCAAs come June 7.

Arkansas moved closer to the top-5 after jumping from No. 8 to No. 7 – and for good reason. The Razorbacks have more entries into the NCAA postseason than any other men’s team. Arkansas athletes combined for 35 entries to this weekend’s NCAA Division I West Preliminary in Austin, Texas, with 13 coming by way of sprints and hurdles and another 9 in the jumps.

A few other teams were on the move in Week 8 as Kansas, Virginia, Ole Miss and Houston all improved their rankings. The Jayhawks went from No. 11 to a program-high No. 10, the Cavaliers went from No. 12 to No. 11, the Rebels went from No. 15 to No. 12 and the Cougars went from No. 17 to No. 13.

Like Houston and Ole Miss, Baylor and Middle Tennessee State improved their ranking by multiple spots. The Bears went from No. 20 to No. 17, while the Blue Raiders enter the top-25 for the first time since Week 6 of last year.

Be sure to check back in next week as we bring you the final NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings of the season. Then you can see how those match up with what happens from June 7-10 in Eugene, Oregon, at the 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. And if you can’t be at Historic Hayward Field in person, you can watch all the proceedings live on the ESPN family of networks.