2020 NCAA DII Women’s Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – Competition is picking up, which means teams are shuffling up the latest edition of the NCAA Division II Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index that was released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday afternoon.
The top-4 remained steady for a second straight week, while Missouri Southern climbed back the national leaderboard to sit at No. 5 to match its highest ranking of the season.
NCAA Division II — Women's Indoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State
2
Lincoln (Mo.)
Lincoln (Mo.)
3
Northwest Missouri
Northwest Missouri
4
Minnesota State
Minnesota State
5
Missouri Southern
Missouri Southern
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Grand Valley State sits atop the rankings for the third consecutive week. The Lakers, already with numerous top performers across all events, continued to build upon their depth with the addition of two more top-5 performances. Natalie Graber clocked the fifth-fastest mile of the season at the GVSU Mike Lints Alumni Open, while Elianne Kimes has the fourth best clearance in the pole vault at 13′-1.5″.
No. 2 Lincoln earned four top-7 performances over the weekend at the Pittsburg State Invitational. Kissi Ann-Brown clocked the fifth-fastest 400 time, and the duo of Kelly-Ann Beckford and Chrissani May are ranked No. 2 and No. 7 in the 800. In the triple jump, Rusheda Blake owns the fifth-farthest jump on the season.
Missouri Southern posted three performances that rank in the top-5 in their respective events to help the Lions improve eight spots from No. 13 a week ago. Jasmine Deckard, already ranked No. 3 in the 200, added to her strong season in the sprints with a No. 5 time in the 60 at 7.51. In the field events, Payton Roberts recorded the second-best mark in the shot put with a heave of 50’-5.5”, while Emily Presley has the fifth-best vault.
Moving back into the top-10 this season is No. 10 West Texas A&M, improving one spot from No. 11 a week ago. The biggest boost came from newly-minted National Athlete of the Week, Zada Swoopes, who threw the national leader in the shot put at 52’-6” in a season best effort at the New Mexico Team Open.
Four teams improved their national rankings by moving up five spots or more, and two of them moving into the top-25 for the first time this season – UC-Colorado Springs (No. 12), Cal State Stanislaus (No. 21), Academy of Art (No. 23) and Angelo State (No. 24).
UC-Colorado Springs saw the duo of Kayla Wooten and Maia Austin run the fourth and sixth-fastest times in the mile at the the New Mexico Team Open. Their performances helped the Mountain Lions improve five spots from No. 17 to No. 12.
The Warriors made the biggest jump out of the top-25 teams, climbing up ten spots from No. 31 to No. 21 for the program’s highest ranking since 2014. Already owning the fifth-fastest time in the 3000 this year, Clarissa Morales clocked the sixth-fastest 5000 at the UW Invitational. Cynthia Mejia also earned herself the No. 7 time in the 3000.
The Urban Knights improved nine spots from No. 32 to jump back into the top-25 after running the seventh-fastest DMR and Ombretta Minkue Meye putting herself at No. 9 in the 400 on the Division II performance list.
Angelo State is making its season debut in the top-25 after earned a five-spot bump from No. 29 a week ago. The top performer for the Rams is Trenadey Scott, who improved her season best in the triple jump. Scott’s winning distance of 40’-5’ at the Pittsburg State Invitational is the second-best jump in the event this season.
Be sure to continue checking back at the National Rating Index each Tuesday to see how the list evolves ahead of the 2020 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 13-14 in Birmingham, Alabama.
