Grand Canyon Men, Lincoln (Mo.) Women Named Outdoor Preseason DII Favorites March 26, 2013

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Grand Canyon Men, Lincoln (Mo.) Women Named Outdoor Preseason DII Favorites
March 26, 2013

NEW ORLEANS – The Grand Canyon men and Lincoln (Mo.) women open the outdoor season as favorites to win the NCAA team crowns, according to the preseason edition of the National Team Computer Rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released Tuesday.

National Ranking PDFs: Top 25 | Full by team | By Event | TFRRS Top 10 NCAA Qual. Bests
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Preseason computer rankings are compiled using performance data from both the current 2013 outdoor season and the 2012 season. Past-season data will be used in conjunction with current data through week three in calculating team scores. The scoring system is explained in more detail here.

Grand Canyon Men Start No. 1 over 2013 Indoor Champ Saint Augustine’s, 2012 Outdoor Champ Adams State

The Antelopes of Grand Canyon have one more shot at a Division II crown before they start the transition to Division I next year, and they start the outdoor season as the narrow favorite to accomplish the task. The indoor champs of a year ago, Grand Canyon opens with a team score of 234.89, while Saint Augustine’s, this season’s indoor winners, start No. 2 with 219.73 team points. Defending outdoor champ Adams State sits in third with 186.58 points.

The Antelopes, who finished 10th at last season’s outdoor championships, boast an impressive 15 student-athletes within the top 10 of the preseason event rankings, which include returners from last season and the top early-season performances of 2013. Junior AAron Hill is the top-ranked long jumper in the division with his 25-9¼ (7.85m) earlier this season, and senior pole vaulter Vince Frawley enters the season No. 1 in his event.

The Falcons of Saint Augustine’s will look to become the first team since Abilene Christian in 2011 to take both the indoor and outdoor titles. The Falcons last accomplished the feat in 2009 and have done it seven times in school history. Between individual and relay events, Saint Augustine’s has 13 top-10 entries on the preseason event rankings, including junior Josh Edmonds, who is the defending champ and ranked No. 1 at 200 meters and No. 2 at 400. Defending 110 hurdles champ Ty’reak Murray also returns.

Last season Adams State became the first team not named Abilene Christian or Saint Augustine’s to claim the team title since Cal Poly in 1981, and the Grizzlies will look to make it a trend with a title defense this season. With distance events as their forte, the Grizzlies enter the outdoor season with 11 student-athletes in the preseason event-by-event top 10, led by sophomore Kevin Batt, the nation’s top returner at both 1500 and 5000 meters. Also among the many returners from the title team is defending 800 champ Boris Berian.

Findlay (133.70) opens at No. 4 – its highest ranking in program history – while Texas A&M-Kingsville (132.65) rounds out the top five.

Lincoln (Mo.) Women Open as Heavy Favorites; Two-Time Defending Champ Grand Valley State Fourth

Lincoln (Mo.) is the early favorite to snap Grand Valley State’s two-year hold on the DII Outdoor team crown, beginning the 2013 campaign with a 70-point lead over the next closest team in the rankings. The Blue Tigers open with a team score of 279.44, followed by Adams State with 206.74. Grand Canyon (No. 3, 176.23) also stands between GVSU and the top spot, as the Lakers enter with a team score of 142.00.

A title for the Blue Tigers would not only break GVSU’s streak, but also be a step toward reclaiming outdoor supremacy that saw them win six titles in a span of seven seasons from 2003-2009, including five straight from 2003-2007. A whopping 16 Blue Tigers appear in the top 10 of the preseason event rankings, including defending champions senior Latoya King at 100 and 200 meters, senior Michelle Cumberbatch in the 400 meter hurdles and junior Nickeisha Beaumont in the long jump. Of those 16 entries, 11 come in the sprints, relays and hurdles.

Adams State will look to counter Lincoln’s sprints prowess with similar strength in the distance events. The Grizzlies boast 11 top-10 performers, including the top-ranked returners in the 3000 steeplecase (junior Alicia Nelson), the 5000 (defending champ senior Kristen McGlynn) and 10,000 (McGlynn), in addition to the No. 2 runner at 1500 meters in McGlynn. The Grizzlies also have speed of their own in junior Kayon Robinson, the defending champ at 400 meters.

Grand Canyon enters No. 3 with 12 student-athletes in the top 10 in the preseason event rankings. Junior Shavine Hodges is the top returner for the Antelopes with a No. 3 rank at 100 meters and a No. 2 at 200.

Grand Valley State still has an opportunity to take two of the three titles this season dating back to their cross country crown in the fall, but the rankings project a more challenging road to the title for the Lakers than in their past two seasons. Senior thrower Sam Lockhart and junior pole vaulter Kristen Hixson headline the eight top-10 returners for the Lakers; Lockhart is No. 1 in both the shot put and discus, while defending champ Hixson tops the pole vault rankings.

Johnson C. Smith completes the top five at No. 5, tied for its best ranking in program history. The program was also No. 5 in the final ranking of the 2011 season.

Here is a look at how previous preseason favorites have fared:

MEN
Season Preseason No. 1 NCAA Finish NCAA Champion Preseason Rank
2011 Abilene Christian 1st Abilene Christian 1st
2012 Saint Augustine’s 3rd Adams State 10th
2013 Grand Canyon ??? ??? ???


WOMEN
Season Preseason No. 1 NCAA Finish NCAA Champion Preseason Rank
2011 Grand Valley State 1st Grand Valley State 1st
2012 Grand Valley State 1st Grand Valley State 1st
2013 Lincoln (Mo.) ??? ??? ???



USTFCCCA NCAA DIVISION II
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD NATIONAL TEAM COMPUTER RANKINGS (TOP 25)
2013 Preseason — March 26
next ranking: April 2

Rank School Points Conference Head Coach (Yr) 2012 FINAL
1 Grand Canyon 234.89 PacWest Tom Flood (3rd) 10
2 Saint Augustine’s 219.73 CIAA George Williams (37th) 3
3 Adams State 186.58 RMAC Damon Martin (18th) 1
4 Findlay 133.70 GLIAC Marc Arce (25th) 7
5 Texas A&M-Kingsville 132.65 Lone Star Ryan Dall (5th) 6
6 Ashland 125.14 GLIAC Jud Logan (10th) 7
7 Lincoln (Mo.) 120.22 MIAA Victor Thomas (12th) 2
8 Chico State 102.79 CCAA Oliver Hanf (1st) 16
9 Pittsburg State 100.65 MIAA Russ Jewett (25th) 12
10 Abilene Christian 99.37 Lone Star Roosevelt Lofton (4th) 5
11 Grand Valley State 91.72 GLIAC Jerry Baltes (14th) 28
12 Missouri Southern 88.71 MIAA Tom Rutledge (24th) 26
13 Minnesota State 81.11 NSIC Mark Schuck (31st) 17
14 Augustana (S.D.) 79.41 NSIC Tracy Hellman (13th) 20
15 Johnson C. Smith 78.94 CIAA Lennox Graham (6th) 14
16 Western State 76.60 RMAC Chris Bradford (4th) 3
17 Shippensburg 74.45 PSAC Dave Osanitsch (8th) 21
18 Indianapolis 71.06 GLVC Scott Fangman (16th) 11
19 Angelo State 70.47 Lone Star James Reid (14th) 41
20 Colorado Mines 63.26 RMAC Robert Nooney (1st) 18
21 Southern Connecticut 61.04 Northeast-10 John Wallin (3rd) 38
22 American International 52.40 Northeast-10 Leo Mayo (7th) 27
23 Alaska Anchorage 52.31 GNAC Michael Friess (23rd) 9
24 Central Missouri 49.64 MIAA Kirk Pedersen (17th)/Kip Janvrin (15th) 15
25 Cal State Stanislaus 47.92 CCAA Diljeet Taylor (1st) 31




Men’s Conference Index Top 10
Rank Conference Points Top 25 Teams
1 MIAA 467.02 4
2 GLIAC 438.89 3
3 Lone Star 378.18 3
4 RMAC 357.72 3
5 CIAA 337.75 2
6 PacWest 256.34 1
7 PSAC 234.94 1
8 NSIC 228.27 2
9 CCAA 223.81 2
10 Northeast-10 171.17 2



USTFCCCA NCAA DIVISION II
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD NATIONAL TEAM COMPUTER RANKINGS (TOP 25)
2013 Preseason — March 26
next ranking: April 2

Rank School Points Conference Head Coach (Yr) 2012 FINAL
1 Lincoln (Mo.) 279.44 MIAA Victor Thomas (12th) 2
2 Adams State 206.74 RMAC Damon Martin (25th) 3
3 Grand Canyon 176.23 PacWest Tom Flood (3rd) 5
4 Grand Valley State 142.00 GLIAC Jerry Baltes (14th) 1
5 Johnson C. Smith 126.69 CIAA Lennox Graham (6th) 13
6 U-Mary 121.68 NSIC Mike Thorson (19th) 10
7 Alaska Anchorage 121.17 GNAC Michael Friess (23rd) 11
8 Angelo State 116.18 Lone Star James Reid (14th) 23
9 Abilene Christian 96.90 Lone Star Roosevelt Lofton (4th) 8
10 Academy of Art 95.81 PacWest Charles Ryan (3rd) NR
11 Central Missouri 91.48 MIAA Kirk Pedersen (17th)/Kip Janvrin (15th) 4
12 Ashland 81.57 GLIAC Jud Logan (10th) 8
13 Saint Augustine’s 67.93 CIAA George Williams (37th) 17
14 Augustana (S.D.) 67.60 NSIC Tracy Hellman (13th) 40
15 San Francisco State 65.75 CCAA Terry Burke (8th) 33
16 Tiffin 62.86 GLIAC Jeremy Croy (13th) 46
17 Wayne State (Neb.) 54.81 NSIC Marlon Brink (13th) 54
18 Sioux Falls 53.85 NSIC Reid Ehrisman (1st) NR
19 Shippensburg 53.03 PSAC Dave Osanitsch (8th) 50
20 Findlay 48.32 GLIAC Marc Arce (25th) 13
21 Pittsburg State 47.99 MIAA Russ Jewett (27th) 43
22 West Texas A&M 47.33 Lone Star Darren Flowers (4th) 31
23 Georgian Court 45.62 East Coast Michael Murawski (1st) NR
24 Winona State 45.34 NSIC Mason Rebarchek (9th) 23
25 Seattle Pacific 43.59 GNAC Karl Lerum (8th) 13




Women’s Conference Index Top 10
Rank Conference Points Top 25 Teams
1 MIAA 550.69 3
2 GLIAC 451.64 4
3 NSIC 379.94 5
4 Lone Star 323.22 3
5 RMAC 283.20 1
6 PacWest 272.04 2
7 CIAA 269.93 2
8 GNAC 242.48 2
9 CCAA 228.56 1
10 PSAC 163.44 1




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Contact: Kyle Terwillegar
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kyle@ustfccca.org
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Kyle Terwillegar

U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association

Communications Assistant

1100 Poydras St., Suite 1750

New Orleans, LA 70163

(O) 504-599-8905 (F) 504-599-8909

Email: kyle@ustfccca.org

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