Kendell Williams & Georgia Women Leap to No. 1 in NCAA Division I Indoor T&F National Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – Georgia’s Kendell Williams is used to being No. 1. Just a sophomore, she’s already the defending NCAA pentathlon and heptathlon champion, the collegiate record holder in the pentathlon, an IAAF World Junior Champion, and the 2015 collegiate leader in both the pentathlon and the long jump.

As of Monday afternoon, she’s now also the leader of the No. 1 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field team in the country, as her Georgia Bulldogs earned their first No. 1 rank in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Computer Rankings.

In what was otherwise a quiet week atop the national rankings, Georgia deposed formerly top-ranked Florida down to No. 2 behind Williams’ collegiate-leading long jump of 21-5½ (6.54m) and Keturah Orji‘s No. 6 long jump of 21-2 (6.45m) at Virginia Tech.

Rounding out the women’s top five were No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Texas A&M and defending national champion No. 5 Oregon.

The entirety of the men’s top five remained static: defending national champion No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Penn State.

NCAA Division I National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Oregon Florida Arkansas Texas A&M Penn State View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll   NCAA Division I National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Georgia Florida Arkansas Texas A&M Oregon View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

Both genders saw the ascent of new No. 6 teams in the LSU men and the Texas women, who are virtually tied with former No. 6 Kentucky.

Things will shake up this weekend, however. This weekend is the indoor track & field equivalent of cross country’s Pre-Nationals/Wisconsin weekend with big meets at Arkansas, Washington, Iowa State, the Millrose Games and elsewhere. Beyond that, this week is the final edition of the rankings that will take into account marks from the 2014 indoor track & field season.

For the Georgia women, the aforementioned Williams is a significant points contributor to the Bulldogs’ 174.75-point team total, which is just three points superior to Florida’s 171.80 (the rankings system is detailed in full here, and does not mirror the points system used at the NCAA Championships).

Williams accounts for 70 of Georgia’s 174-point total between No. 1 ranks in the pentathlon and the long jump, a No. 2 standing in the high jump, and a No. 14 rank in the 60-meter hurdles. It is important to note that it is highly unlikely Williams will contest all four events at the NCAA Championships.

(For reference, the high jump and long jump are on the first day of the NCAA Championships, and the pentathlon and 60-meter hurdles are both on the second day.)

Williams joined the USTFCCCA’s QA2 Max podcast earlier this season and was asked about the possibility of competing in multiple events:

With a national team title now very much a real possibility for the Bulldogs, and with multiple single events in which Williams could take the title or score big points, that outlook might just change as the season progresses. Could it even go as far as Williams bypassing the combined events as she did at the IAAF World Junior Championships this past summer to focus on winning the 100-meter hurdles? Stay tuned.

Beyond the Georgia women, the biggest gainers in either the men’s or women’s top 25 were the Tennessee men. Behind No. 5 60-meter sprinter Christian Coleman, the Volunteers jumped up 12 spots to No. 13 in the country.

The next-biggest moves were six-spot jumps by the No. 12 Texas Tech women behind Cierra White and the No. 23 Michigan State men.