2023 NAIA Women’s Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – Punxsutawney Phil may or may not see his shadow tomorrow, signaling six more weeks of winter – but what we will see is five more weeks of high-level indoor track and field in the NAIA ranks.
And, for the second time in as many weeks, Indiana Tech sits atop the NAIA Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index, which was released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday afternoon. Only marks from the current indoor track and field season have been used in this objective compilation.
NAIA — Women's Indoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Indiana Tech
Indiana Tech
2
Concordia (Neb.)
Concordia (Neb.)
3
William Carey (Miss.)
William Carey (Miss.)
4
Huntington (Ind.)
Huntington (Ind.)
5
Central Methodist (Mo.)
Central Methodist (Mo.)
All TFRI Reports
Top-ranked Indiana Tech is headlined by 17 performances that are good enough to crack the national top-10 of each respective event (four more than last week). Of those 17 top-10 performances, ten landed in the top-5, including national-leading marks by Lisa Voyles in the mile (4:50.74), and Juanita Webster-Freeman in the pentathlon (3958 points). The mile performance Voyles turned in at the Commodore Challenge on January 13 is one of four events she is ranked in the top-five: she also ranks second in the 600m (1:32.78), second in the 1000m (2:50.71) and fourth in the 3000m (9:55.68). Meanwhile, the pentathlon is one of four events Webster-Freeman ranks in the top-10 in herself, as she also ranks third in the high jump (1.67m/5-5¾), ninth in the 60m hurdles (8.72), and the Warriors’ 4x400m relay team in which she runs the opening leg ranks fifth (3:54.30).
Second-ranked Concordia (Neb.) is led by ten top-10 efforts, six of which cracked the top-5 nationally. While the Bulldogs – third at the national meet a year ago – do not have any national leaders on their squad, they have turned in four performances that rank in the top-three so far this season, two of which rank in the top-two. Along with running the opening leg of the third-ranked 4×800 relay at the Concordia Early-Bird meet on December 9 (9:39.96), as well as the opening leg of her DMR team at the Graduate Classic on January 13 (12:20.68, which ranks second), Rylee Haecker’s time of 2:56.44 in the 1000 also ranks her third. Amy Richert has also made significant headlines for the Bulldogs this season, as she ranks second in the pentathlon with 3487 points, and ninth in the high jump with a height of 1.64m (5-4½).
Third-ranked William Carey (Miss.) – runner-up at the national meet in the previous three seasons – held steady this week, with ten of their 11 top-10 marks landing in the top-five, three of which rank atop the national leaderboards. Lina May’s 5000-meter time of 16:57.07 at the GVSU Holiday Open on January 9 ranks her first in the NAIA in that event. Joy Abu not only owns the top spot in the nation in the 200 (24.35), but also ranks fifth in the 60 (7.57), ran the third leg on her third-ranked 4x400m squad at the Mark Colligan Memorial on January 21 (3:53.88) and currently ranks second in the 60m hurdles (8.41). Salieci Myles is the national leader in the hurdles and sits seventh in the 60 at 7.59.
Fourth-ranked Huntington (Ind.) is led by a national-leading seven top-ranked athletes in their respective events, four of which are courtesy of freshman sensation Addy Wiley. This season, Wiley has posted national-leading marks in the 600 (1:28.69), 800 (2:08.28), 1000 (2:49.71) and 3000 (9:24.28). The Foresters are especially stout in the jumps, as they own the top marks in all three events, led by Destiny Copeland, who owns top marks in the triple jump (12.43m/40-9½) and long jump (5.87m/19-2½). Her teammate Erica Xayarath leads the NAIA in the high jump event, posting a mark of 1.71m (5-7¼). Xayarath also ranks second to Copeland in the long jump to go along with her ninth-place ranking in the triple jump.
Central Methodist didn’t budge from the fifth spot. Of the ten marks that landed individual athletes in the top-10 (two more than last week), four of them rank inside the top-5, captained by their second-ranked 4x400m relay team (3:52.52). Other top-5 performances include Darly Camilo-Montenegro (third in the 600 at 1:34.03), Yanira Deana-Paninka (fifth in the 3000-meter race-walk at 16:17.94) and Baylee Beard (fifth in the weight throw at 17.04m (55-11).
Rounding out the top-10 teams in Week 2 are No. 6 Milligan (Tenn.), No. 7 Hastings (Neb), No. 8 Life (Ga.), No. 9 Cornerstone (Mich.) and No. 10 Olivet Nazarene.
Five weeks remain in the season, which will conclude March 2-4 at the 2023 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Brookings, South Dakota.
Zach Austin is an intern for USTFCCCA, and a communications major at Dickinson State University, where he is a member of the cross country and track & field teams.
