2023 NAIA Women’s Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 5
NEW ORLEANS — What a fun two weeks of track and field we are bound to see. The 2023 NAIA Indoor Championships are right around the corner.
There were no changes to the top-5 this week in the NAIA Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index, as released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). As has been the case all season, Indiana Tech comes in as the top-ranked team. And as was the case last week, William Carey (Miss.), Huntington (Ind.), Concordia (Neb.) and Life (Ga.) come in this week as the No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5-ranked teams respectively.
Only performances 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
William Carey (Miss.)
William Carey (Miss.)
3
Huntington (Ind.)
Huntington (Ind.)
4
Concordia (Neb.)
Concordia (Neb.)
5
Life (Ga.)
Life (Ga.)
All TFRI Reports
Indiana Tech – Led by five top-ranked athletes (two more than last week), and an astonishing twenty-one athletes who are ranked inside the top-10 of their respective events, the Warriors appear to be the odds-on favorite to win their third-consecutive NAIA national title. Six of those top-10 performances belong to Juanita Webster-Freeman, two of which rank No. 1 in the NAIA (14.97m/49-1½ in the shot put; 3,936 points in the pentathlon.) Lisa Voyles has contributed two top-ranked efforts as well, as she turned in an NAIA-leading time of 2:48.47 in the 1000 meters at the WHAC Indoor Conference Championships over the weekend. Her 4x800m relay team’s time of 9:20.25 at the same meet also ranks tops in the nation. Also joining the top-ranked club this weekend was Soyinne Grenyion with her 200m time of 23.80. Grenyion also turned in a 60m time of 7.49 in the finals at the same meet, ranking her 4th in the country. This season, she also ran a leg on her 4x400m relay team which ranks 3rd (3.50.97).
William Carey – The Crusaders held steady at No. 2 and are propelled by twelve top-10 performances, four of which rank tops in the nation. While none of those top-ranked efforts took place at the USC Indoor Open, one top-10 performance did. Last Friday, Lina May turned in an effort of 9:47.35 in the 3000 meters, which ranks her third. The time May turned in is one of two events she is ranked in the top-5 in, as she also holds the nation’s top mark in the 5000m (16:53.68). Also posting top-ranked marks this season are Joy Abu in the 400m (55.16), Salieci Myles in the 60m hurdles (8.35), and Machaeda Linton in the long jump (5.91m, 40-6¾).
Huntington (Ind.) – Headlined by eleven top-10 performances, all of which rank in the top-5, the Foresters remain the third-ranked team in the TFRI. While only one of those performances took place this weekend at the Crossroads League Indoor Track and Field Championships (Abbey Gentz ran a time of 17:14.18 in the 5000 meters), there was one performance that stood out elsewhere. Not only is freshman hotshot Addy Wiley ranked first in the nation in four events (600m, 800m, mile and 3000), second in another (1000m) and 3rd in one more (DMR), she turned in one of her more impressive performances of the year outside of that this past weekend, finishing fourth in the 1500m at the USATF Indoor Championships with a time of 4:18.84. Along with the performances that Wiley has turned in this season, Erica Xayarath continues to hold top marks herself, as she is the top-ranked high jumper (1.71m/5-7¾), and fifth-ranked long jumper (5.85m/19-2½). The remaining top-5 marks for the Foresters are held by Destiny Copeland, who ranks 2nd in the triple jump (12.43m/40-9½) and 4th in the long jump (5.87m/19-3¼).
Concordia (Neb.) – The Bulldogs remained at #4. Six athletes rank in the top-10, two of which are in the top-5. Of those performances, only Erin Mapson’s sixth-ranked pole vault of 3.82m (12-6¼) took place at the GPAC Championships this weekend. All six of the Bulldogs’ top-10 performances this season, which includes all four members of their sixth-ranked 4×400 meter relay team (3:53.49), have been done by a different athlete, as Josie Puelz still ranks third in the pole vault (13-¼), Amy Richert ranks fourth in the pentathlon (3,487 points), Hannah Newton ranks sixth in the high jump (1.67m, 5-5¾), and Rylee Haecker ranks sixth in the 1000 meters (2:56.44).
Life (Ga.) – As was the case last week, the Running Eagles come in at No. 5 this week in their second appearance in the top-5 this season. Talayla Davis and Sabrina Richman’s 60-meter times of 7.40 and 7.52 at the RADD Last Chance Meet rank them first and sixth in the NAIA, respectively. The two also posted top-10 marks in the 200m at the same meet, with Davis running a 24.29 (fourth) and Richman running a 24.59 (eighth). This season, Richman also ran the anchor leg on her 4×400 team that ranks fifth (3:52.56). The Running Eagles also have Levonis Davis, who ranks fifth in the shot put (14.25m, 46-9).
Rounding out the top-10 this week are No. 6 Milligan (Tenn.), No. 7 Central Methodist, No. 8 Taylor (Ind.), No. 9 Hastings (Neb.) and No. 10 Cornerstone (Mich.).
We are now less than two weeks away from the 2023 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships, which will take place March 2-4 at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, South Dakota.
