Top-6 Stand Pat In NCAA Men’s DII Rankings

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NEW ORLEANS — While there was some movement on the backend of the Men’s National Division II Team Rankings, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday, the top-6 spots remained exactly the same from a week ago.

Ashland, Adams State, Tiffin, Grand Valley State, Saint Augustine’s and Missouri Southern were in spots one through six, respectively, for the second-consecutive week. Saint Augustine’s and Missouri Southern made a significant push into the top-6 a week ago and held their ground.

In the National Team Computer Rankings, individual matchups on the national landscape matter most – as opposed to head-to-head team matchups – as do where athletes are ranked on the NCAA Division II Descending Order List. That is why Ashland remained in the top spot, despite placing 3rd at the GLIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend behind champion Tiffin and runner-up Grand Valley State. The Eagles did get a Division II automatic qualifying mark out of Alex Hill in the weight throw this past weekend, as the rookie recorded a toss of 21.00m (68-10 ¾). Elijah Talk also recorded the 3rd-best shot put mark in Division II this year with a toss of 18.15m (59-5 ¾).

Tiffin saw the biggest increase in point total in the top-6, as they jumped 10.81 points thanks to two top marks in Division II on the year. Long jumper Marquise Corbett (7.81m/25-7 ½) and shot putter Coy Blair (19.54m/64-1 ¼) had strong weekends for the Dragons, as both recorded Division II automatic qualifying marks.

GVSU high jumper Hunter Weeks (2.15m/7-0 ½) was the only athlete on the latter three teams in the top-6 to record a top-10 mark in Division II this past weekend.

More Info NCAA Division II Rankings Central
NATIONAL PDFs Top 25 | By Team | By Event Top TFRRS Qualifiers # of Top-10 Athletes by Team Rankings History This Season By Rank | All-Time	REGIONAL PDFs Top 10 | By Team | By Event #EventSquad Rankings Top-16 Summary Full Reports: By Team | By Event

While the top half of the top-10 remained stagnant, there were changes in spots 7-10. Minnesota State and Texas A&M-Kingsville each jumped a spot to 7th and 8th, respectively. Minnesota State got three top-10 Division II performances this past weekend at the NSIC Indoor Conference Championships, including the best triple jump mark in Division II this season from Michael Sandle (16.42m/53-10 ½). Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Javier Lopez (60 hurdles) and Kenneth Jackson (200 meters) recorded the 4th and 7th-best marks, respectively, in Division II in their respective events on the season at the BU Last Chance Meet.

Academy of Art made its season-debut in the top-10, jumping five spots to 10th after a superb outing from Mobolade Ajomale. The native of Canada broke the Division II record in the 200 meters with a time of 20.85, while also running the top time in the 60 meters in Division II this season at 6.64.

Rounding out the top-10 was Texas A&M-Commerce, who dropped two spots to 9th. CSU-Pueblo dropped out of the top-10 altogether, falling from 10th to 15th.

Findlay, Sioux Falls and Western Oregon all rose in the rankings to 12th, 13th and 14th, respectively, right behind Azusa Pacific.

Lincoln (Mo.) made an astounding jump, moving from 106th to 22nd after beginning the year ranked 3rd in the preseason poll. After two more weeks in the top-10, the Blue Tigers fell into triple-digit territory before making the climb back into the top-25 due to five top-20 marks in Division II this past weekend at the MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Only one weekend remains between now and the 2017 NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 10-11. Will there be changes in the rankings between now and then? Check back with www.USTFCCCA.org to find out.

Men’s #EventSquad Leaders (Best Foursome in the Country By Event)