2019 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 6
NEW ORLEANS – Conference Championship Weekend brought some notables changes to the national landscape, especially on the Descending Order List where athletes established eight new national leads with less than three weeks left until the national championships.
From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Conference Championships Central
With that known, it’s time to look at how much the National Rating Index shifted between Week 5 and Week 6 with the most recent installment that was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Remember: The 2019 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held May 23-25 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
NAIA — Men's Outdoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
British Columbia
British Columbia
2
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
3
Indiana Tech
Indiana Tech
4
Saint Mary (Kan.)
Saint Mary (Kan.)
5
Westmont (Calif.)
Westmont (Calif.)
All TFRI Reports
While the top-5 of the Men’s National Rating Index went virtually unscathed, the same couldn’t be said for the entire top-25. Only six of the top-25 teams from last week remained in place, of which included three top-5 programs.
British Columbia, Wayland Baptist (Texas) and Indiana Tech sit No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, for yet another week. Strong performances this past weekend allowed the trio to hold steady atop the National Rating Index in a tumultuous week.
Saint Mary (Kan.) swapped spots with Westmont (Calif.), as the former is now ranked No. 4 and the latter comes in at No. 5. The Spires captured the team title at the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships this past weekend and were rewarded by the Index.
Here are the biggest movers in the top-25 of Week 6 of the Men’s National Rating Index: No. 11 Concordia (Neb.) (up seven spots), No. 13 Indiana Wesleyan (up 12 spots), No. 18 Dordt (Iowa) (up four spots), No. 20 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (up six spots). MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) was the only new addition to the top-25 in Week 6.
NAIA — Women's Outdoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
British Columbia
British Columbia
2
Southern-New Orleans (La.)
Southern-New Orleans (La.)
3
Concordia (Neb.)
Concordia (Neb.)
4
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
5
Doane (Neb.)
Doane (Neb.)
All TFRI Reports
Despite some exciting conference championship meets, change was few and far between in the top-10 of the Women’s National Rating Index this week.
The only difference between the top-10 in Week 5 and Week 6 came at No. 6 and No. 7, where MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and Indiana Tech swapped spots. The Pioneers are now ranked sixth, while the Warriors dropped one spot to seventh.
We did see some movement outside of the top-10, notably with Eastern Oregon. The Mountaineers jumped from No. 18 to No. 11 thanks to some strong efforts this past weekend. EOU added three new marks to the Index in the guise of its now fourth-ranked 4×800 relay team, Karianne Zollman (now seventh in the javelin) and Maggie Ledbetter (now 10th in the discus).
Three new teams did join the top-25: Taylor (Ind.) comes in at No. 23, McPherson (Kan.) is ranked 24th and Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) holds down the No. 25 spot. Both the Trojans and the Bulldogs leapt 10 or more spots between Week 5 and Week 6, while the Warriors made up four spots of their own.
