2019 NCAA DII Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 8
NEW ORLEANS – The top teams in the nation on the men’s and women’s side might have remained the same for the sixth straight week but that doesn’t mean the rest of the charts didn’t experience quite the shake up in the latest NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Rating Index released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday.
Based on the charts, especially on the men’s side, it looks like the championship will run through Texas this year.
No, literally: The 2019 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships is just weeks away, set for May 23-25 in Kingsville, Texas.
Remember that fans can follow along with all of the action from the various conference championships taking place this week RIGHT HERE at Conference Championships Central.
NCAA Division II — Men's Outdoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Angelo State
Angelo State
2
Texas A&M-Kingsville
Texas A&M-Kingsville
3
East Texas A&M
East Texas A&M
4
Lincoln (Mo.)
Lincoln (Mo.)
5
West Texas A&M
West Texas A&M
All TFRI Reports
Angelo State is the No. 1 team for a now program-record seven consecutive weeks in the Men’s National Rating Index. The Rams are fresh off winning its second team title in a row at the Lone Star Outdoor Championships after the program recorded 239.5 points, more than 95 points better than the next closest team at the meet.
With the strong performance, the team continued to better individual marks in the TFRI, with the best showings of the weekend going to Z’Antyler Foster-Hooks (now third in the nation in both the 100 and 200), Nils Fischer (second in the javelin), Dragan Pesic (fifth in the decathlon) and Matthew Walsh (seventh in the triple jump).
Coming up next in the No. 2 spot is Texas A&M-Kingsville after a fourth-place finish at the Lone Star Outdoor Championships.
The Javelinas also added numerous individual marks to the index with the best of the weekend going to national leaders Ayman Zahafi (800) and Dyshon Vaughn (long jump), along with throwers Richard Cervantes (second in the discus and third in the shot), Jorge Rios (third in the discus) and Vitaly Zhgun (fourth in the javelin). William Watson (fourth in the 110H) and Jonathan Harper (fourth in the decathlon) are both ranked highly as well in their respective events.
Advancing two spots to No. 3 was Texas A&M-Commerce after a second-place finish at the Lone Star Championships.
The best of the weekend went to Rashard Clark (now third in the 400), Dorian Andrews (now third in the 110H), Josh Boateng (now fourth in the shot) and the now top-ranked 4×100 unit.
Climbing up three spots to No. 4 was Lincoln (Mo.) after a fourth-place finish at the MIAA Championships.
Like the previous teams listed, the Blue Tigers also added multiple individual marks to the index with the best of the bunch going to long jumpers Ryan Brown and Kizan David (second and sixth overall, respectively) and sprinters Javan Gray and Raymone Campbell (sixth and eighth, respectively, in the 100).
Dropping a single spot to No. 5 was West Texas A&M which came in third at the Lone Star Championships.
The Buffs might have added “only” five individual marks to the index, but made them count. Their best from the weekend included Abraham Seaneke (tops the nation in the triple jump), Nicolai Hartling (second in the 400H), Lorenzo Johnson (fifth in the 110H) and Quinton Sansing (fifth in the 200 and seventh in the 400).
The rest of the top-10 was completed by Ashland, Grand Valley State, Colorado School of Mines, Adams State and Central Missouri, in that order.
In total, 18 of the top-25 teams experienced some kind of movement from the previous edition of the index. The biggest movers out of this group were No. 14 Minnesota State (up six spots) and No. 21 Findlay (up five). It was the best rank for Minnesota State since the program earned the No. 12 spot early in 2017.
The largest improvement overall was seen by Lindenwood after making a 47-spot jump to No. 56. Other big gains were taken by No. 53 Walsh (up 36 spots) and No. 40 UPR Mayaguez and No. 77 Lewis (both up 33).
Four previously unranked teams joined the rankings this week, led by No. 101 UPR Rio Piedras.
NCAA Division II — Women's Outdoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State
2
Lincoln (Mo.)
Lincoln (Mo.)
3
Adams State
Adams State
4
Missouri Southern
Missouri Southern
5
Angelo State
Angelo State
All TFRI Reports
Grand Valley State is here to stay, as the team has been No. 1 for sixth straight weeks in the Women’s National Rating Index.
The Lakers are fresh off winning the team title at the GLIAC Outdoor Championships with a 142-point margin of victory over the next closest program.
GVSU were led by Bobbie Goodwin (now fourth in the country in the hammer) and the group’s 4×400 unit which is now ranked fifth overall. To put their already strong season in perspective, this group only added nine individual performances from the championship meet to the index rating due to the strengths of the marks their athletes have already posted this season.
Moving up one spot to No. 2 was Lincoln (Mo.) after a third-place finish at the MIAA Championships.
The Blue Tigers were paced by national-leading 400 runner Kissi-Ann Brown who also posted the third-best performance this season in the 400H. Christine Moss also ran the fifth-best mark in the 200 so far this season.
Also jumping up a single spot was No. 3 Adams State which had athletes at both the Payton Jordan Invitational and Texas Tech Masked Rider Open.
Big marks for the Grizzlies came from Dianna Johnson (second in the 100 and fourth in the 200), Eilish Flanagan (second in the steeple), Stephanie Cotter (third in the 1500) and Oweneika Watson (sixth in the 100H).
Dropping two spots to No. 4 Missouri Southern after a second-place finish by .02 points (!!) at the MIAA Championships. It was the closest finish at the championship meet in conference history.
The Lions were 1.2 points behind eventual champion Pittsburg State heading into the final race of the meet, the 4×400 relay. Despite a strong showing to take sixth in the race, Pittsburg State was able to claw their way to a seventh-place finish. The Lion’s three points earned weren’t enough to climb over the Gorillas as their two points in the race gave them the conference title by the slimmest of margins.
Missouri Southern added or bested 10 individual performances in the index with the best belonging to Morgan Smith (eighth in the 100H) and Payton Roberts (12th in the discus).
Completing the rest of the top-five was No. 5 Angelo State which is the same spot they held just the week before.
The Rams won the Lone Star Outdoor Championships for the second consecutive year behind strong performances from Faith Roberson (fourth in the 400H) and the group’s 4×100 relay squad (now eighth in the nation). One of the most interesting facts in DII this week belonged to Daisy Osakue who entering the meet was ranked first in the discus and sixth in the shot, and then went on to finish second overall at the conference meet in the high jump with a mark that has her ranked 12th in the country.
The rest of the top-10 was rounded out in the following order; SF State, West Texas A&M, Pittsburg State, Texas A&M-Commerce and Alaska Anchorage.
In review, 21 of the top-25 ranked programs moved around from the last edition of the index, although three of the top-10 (Grand Valley State, Angelo State and West Texas A&M) remained locked in their previous position. The biggest improvement that came out of this group was a 12-spot jump by No. 23 Texas A&M-Kingsville. Texas A&M-Commerce and No. 25 Southwest Baptist each shot up nine spots while No. 17 Western Colorado and No. 20 Central Washington both advanced seven.
It is Texas A&M-Kingsville first time appearing in the top-25 this season and its best mark since 2017.
The largest leap overall was seen by No. 68 Black Hills State after a 68-spot increase. Other big improvements were seen from No. 67 Queens (up 50 spots), No. 91 Missouri S&T (up 49) and No. 92 Stonehill (up 43).
