

2019 NCAA DI Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 6
NEW ORLEANS – While the top of the charts remained relatively unscathed as teams rested for the bulk of Conference Championship Weekend, a new program charged up the rankings in the latest edition of the NCAA Division I Women’s Outdoor Track & Field National Rating Index released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday.
From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Conference Championships Central
As teams continue to battle for conference glory, expect even more changes to take place as the season continues to roll toward the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, set for June 5-8 in Austin, Texas.
NCAA Division I — Women's Outdoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five





Arkansas
Texas A&M
Southern California
Kentucky
Oregon
All TFRI Reports
Arkansas held steady as the top team in the nation for the third week in a row after its athletes had light competition at the Payton Jordan Invitational and Arkansas Twilight.
The Razorbacks’ best showing from the weekend came from Taylor Werner, who is now 11th in the TFRI Individual Rankings in the 10,000 after her effort at the Payton Jordan Invitational.
READ MORE: Five Collegiate Leads Established At Payton Jordan Invitational
The No. 2-4 teams also didn’t budge from their previous ranks, as the group was made up of No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Southern California and No. 4 Kentucky, respectively. All three programs were off this past weekend and will compete at their respective conference championships this weekend.
Advancing three spots, to move back into the top-5, was Oregon.
The Ducks competed at three different meets this past weekend: the Pac-12 Combined Events Championships, the Linfield Open and the Payton Jordan Invitational. Standouts from those meets include Jessica Hull (now leads the nation in the 1500) and Susan Ejore (third overall in the 800). Hull made her outdoor debut at the distance she won an NCAA title last year.
The star of this week’s National Rating Index is North Carolina A&T after the program won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championships behind some truly eye-popping numbers.
The Aggies are no longer the nation’s Best Kept Secret: Kayla White and Co. made sure of that.
READ MORE: The Weekend In Review (May 3-5, 2019)
White took over the national lead in both the 100 (10.96) and 200 (22.52) and her time in the former tied her as the fifth-best performer in collegiate history. Not to be outdone, Cambrea Sturgis ran the nation’s third fastest time in the 200, while Madeleine Akobundu is now third in the 100H. The team’s 4×100 relay also moved into second overall in the nation.
This is truly a momentous occasion for North Carolina A&T as it is the first time the program has been ranked in the top-10 in any iteration of the National Rating Index, indoors or outdoors.
The rest of the top-10 was rounded out in the following order: LSU, Alabama, New Mexico and Florida.
In total, 18 of the top-25 programs experienced some kind of movement from the previous National Rating Index. Other than the big leap by North Carolina A&T, the next best improvement came from Boise State after a jump of seven spots got them to No. 20, its best mark received so far this season.
The largest overall improvement went to both No. 133 San Francisco and No. 130 N.C. Central after respective jumps of 55 spots. Other notable increases went to No. 144 Northeastern (up 31), No. 108 Kent State (up 27), No. 135 Harvard (up 26), No. 121 Rhode Island (up 25), No. 170 James Madison (up 24), No. 86 Portland (up 23) and No. 39 Norfolk State (up 22).
Seven previously unranked teams joined the National Rating Index this week, led by No. 152 Morgan State.