By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA
May 12, 2015
NEW ORLEANS – With the end of conference championships and a smattering of “last chance” meets this past weekend, the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field regular season has finally come to a close.
However, the drama of the national team title races is far from over.
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Though these are not the final sets of rankings – another edition will be released next Monday taking into account only the accepted entries into the NCAA Championships on May 21-23 in Allendale, Michigan, (to be announced Tuesday afternoon) – never before have the Lions been in such a strong position entering the national championships.
One year ago in head coach Tom Dibbern’s first season, Commerce was 24th and 23rd in the final two sets of rankings following the regular season before finishing an impressive 12th at NCAAs.
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Those performances boosted Commerce up eight spots in the rankings – the biggest jump of any men’s top-25 team this week – with a team rankings score of 176.47, an improvement of 62 points from a week ago. The team rankings score does not reflect the scoring system used at the NCAA Championships. A full breakdown of the formula can be found here.
By no means are they clear of the pack, however.
Former No. 1 Ashland still looms large at No. 2 with 167.91 points, as do two-time defending national outdoor champion No. 3 Saint Augustine’s at 156.51 and reigning cross country and indoor champion No. 4 Adams State at 139.06.
Rounding out the top five was Texas A&M-Kingsville at 127.67, heading a group of six more podium contenders that checked in above 100 points this week.
Meanwhile, the indoor champion Central Missouri women continued to be the class of their gender’s rankings, checking in with 194.54 points for their seventh consecutive week at No. 1.
The Jennies’ chase pack continued to jostle for position, as each of the next five teams in the rankings came in at a different position than a week ago.
New Mexico Highlands – led by the record-setting 10 All-Region honors amassed by Salcia Slack – moved back into the No. 2 position with 155.92 points, overtaking defending national champ Lincoln (Mo.).
With 137.20 points, the Blue Tigers find themselves in the midst of a power struggle for the podium. After moving up one spot apiece, No. 4 Saint Augustine’s (135.02) and NCAAs host/cross country champion No. 5 Grand Valley State (134.92) are right on Lincoln’s heels.
Also coming in at more than 100 points were No. 6 Pittsburg State (121.62) and No. 7 Hillsdale (108.49).
Making the biggest move on the final weekend of competition were the women of Tarleton State, who jumped nine spots to No. 15. No men’s team improved more than No. 1 Texas A&M-Commerce’s eight-spot gain, but No. 12 Tiffin came the closest with a six spot improvement.
The lone change at the top of the final regional rankings was Central Missouri’s women reclaiming control of the Central Region from Pittsburg State.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division II | |||||
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25) | |||||
2015 Week #9 — May 12 | |||||
| next ranking: MONDAY, May 18 (pre-championships) | |||||
| Rank | Institution | Points | Conference | Head Coach (Yr) | Last Week |
| 1 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 176.47 | Lone Star | Tom Dibbern (2nd) | 9 |
| 2 | Ashland | 167.91 | GLIAC | Jud Logan (12th) | 1 |
| 3 | Saint Augustine’s | 156.51 | CIAA | George Williams (39th) | 2 |
| 4 | Adams State | 139.06 | RMAC | Rock Light (2nd) | 4 |
| 5 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 127.67 | Lone Star | Ryan Dall (7th) | 5 |
| 6 | Minnesota State | 125.22 | NSIC | Jim Dilling (2nd) | 8 |
| 7 | Findlay | 121.90 | GLIAC | Marc Arce (27th) | 6 |
| 8 | Pittsburg State | 115.33 | MIAA | Russ Jewett (27th) | 3 |
| 9 | Grand Valley State | 113.60 | GLIAC | Jerry Baltes (16th) | 7 |
| 10 | Central Missouri | 102.04 | MIAA | Kirk Pedersen (19th)/Kip Janvrin (17th) | 10 |
| 11 | Angelo State | 94.06 | Lone Star | James Reid (16th) | 13 |
| 12 | Tiffin | 92.96 | GLIAC | Jeremy Croy (15th) | 18 |
| 13 | West Texas A&M | 84.74 | Lone Star | Darren Flowers (6th) | 15 |
| 14 | Southern Indiana | 83.61 | GLVC | Mike Hillyard (17th) | 17 |
| 15 | Missouri Southern | 81.61 | MIAA | Bryan Schiding (2nd) | 11 |
| 16 | Alaska Anchorage | 81.54 | GNAC | Michael Friess (25th) | 16 |
| 17 | Colorado Mines | 78.25 | RMAC | Matt Sparks (2nd) | 14 |
| 18 | Shippensburg | 72.23 | PSAC | Dave Osanitsch (10th) | 12 |
| 19 | Chico State | 65.91 | CCAA | Oliver Hanf (3rd) | 19 |
| 20 | CSU-Pueblo | 61.12 | RMAC | Matt Morris (2nd) | 25 |
| 21 | Johnson C. Smith | 58.71 | CIAA | Lennox Graham (8th) | 20 |
| 22 | Western State | 55.16 | RMAC | Chris Bradford (6th) | 27 |
| 23 | Lincoln (Mo.) | 54.69 | MIAA | Victor Thomas (14th) | 24 |
| 24 | Hillsdale | 54.37 | GLIAC | Andrew Towne (1st) | 23 |
| 25 | Azusa Pacific | 53.68 | PacWest | Kevin Reid (20th) | 22 |
| dropped out: No. 21 Stillman | |||||
| View All Teams Beyond the Top 25 | |||||
| Men’s Conference Index Top 10 | |||
| Rank | Conference | Points | Top 25 Teams |
| 1 | GLIAC | 657.67 | 5 |
| 2 | Lone Star | 551.89 | 4 |
| 3 | MIAA | 474.41 | 4 |
| 4 | RMAC | 384.50 | 4 |
| 5 | CIAA | 256.67 | 2 |
| 6 | CCAA | 193.03 | 1 |
| 7 | NSIC | 168.96 | 1 |
| 8 | GNAC | 165.14 | 1 |
| 9 | GLVC | 132.09 | 1 |
| 10 | PacWest | 121.29 | 1 |
| Men’s Regional Index Leaders | |||
| Region | Institution | Points | Last Week |
| Atlantic | Shippensburg | 648.77 | 1 |
| Central | Pittsburg State | 384.74 | 1 |
| East | Southern Connecticut | 611.04 | 1 |
| Midwest | Grand Valley State | 482.33 | 1 |
| South | Shorter | 364.68 | 1 |
| South Central | Texas A&M-Commerce | 564.25 | 1 |
| Southeast | Mount Olive | 558.19 | 1 |
| West | Chico State | 428.13 | 1 |
| View All Regional Rankings | |||
USTFCCCA NCAA Division II | |||||
Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25) | |||||
2015 Week #9 — May 12 | |||||
| next ranking: MONDAY, May 18 (pre-championships) | |||||
| Rank | Institution | Points | Conference | Head Coach (Yr) | Last Week |
| 1 | Central Missouri | 194.54 | MIAA | Kirk Pedersen (19th)/Kip Janvrin (17th) | 1 |
| 2 | New Mexico Highlands | 155.92 | RMAC | Bob DeVries (23rd) | 3 |
| 3 | Lincoln (Mo.) | 137.20 | MIAA | Victor Thomas (14th) | 2 |
| 4 | Saint Augustine’s | 135.02 | CIAA | George Williams (39th) | 5 |
| 5 | Grand Valley State | 134.92 | GLIAC | Jerry Baltes (16th) | 6 |
| 6 | Pittsburg State | 121.62 | MIAA | Russ Jewett (29th) | 4 |
| 7 | Hillsdale | 108.49 | GLIAC | Andrew Towne (4th) | 7 |
| 8 | Ashland | 95.64 | GLIAC | Jud Logan (12th) | 8 |
| 9 | Azusa Pacific | 93.35 | PacWest | Preston Grey (3rd) | 9 |
| 10 | Adams State | 93.23 | RMAC | Rock Light (2nd) | 10 |
| 11 | West Texas A&M | 83.62 | Lone Star | Darren Flowers (6th) | 11 |
| 12 | Southern Connecticut | 68.92 | Northeast-10 | Melissa Stoll (3rd) | 18 |
| 13 | Wayne State (Neb.) | 66.59 | NSIC | Marlon Brink (15th) | 13 |
| 14 | Simon Fraser | 65.93 | GNAC | Brit Townsend (15th) | 12 |
| 15 | Tarleton State | 65.15 | Lone Star | Patrick Ponder (9th) | 24 |
| 16 | Angelo State | 59.65 | Lone Star | James Reid (16th) | 15 |
| 17 | Winona State | 58.37 | NSIC | Mason Rebarchek (11th) | 17 |
| 18 | Shorter | 57.68 | Peach Belt | Scott Byrd (8th) | 14 |
| 19 | Lewis | 56.04 | GLVC | Dana Schwarting (10th) | 16 |
| 20 | Western Washington | 52.03 | GNAC | Pee Wee Halsell (28th) | 20 |
| 21 | New Haven | 51.11 | Northeast-10 | Shaunnaya Williams (4th) | 22 |
| 22 | Findlay | 50.99 | GLIAC | Marc Arce (27th) | 28 |
| 23 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 50.88 | Lone Star | Ryan Dall (7th) | 19 |
| 24 | Chico State | 49.59 | CCAA | Robert Nooney (2nd) | 29 |
| 25 | Alaska Anchorage | 46.83 | GNAC | Michael Friess (25th) | 23 |
| dropped out: No. 21 Winston-Salem State, No. 25 Fort Hays State | |||||
| View All Teams Beyond the Top 25 | |||||
| Women’s Conference Index Top 10 | |||
| Rank | Conference | Points | Top 25 Teams |
| 1 | MIAA | 619.35 | 3 |
| 2 | GLIAC | 487.84 | 4 |
| 3 | RMAC | 363.84 | 2 |
| 4 | Lone Star | 298.24 | 4 |
| 5 | NSIC | 294.41 | 2 |
| 6 | CIAA | 268.88 | 1 |
| 7 | GNAC | 224.31 | 3 |
| 8 | Northeast-10 | 180.15 | 2 |
| 9 | GLVC | 170.98 | 1 |
| 10 | CCAA | 116.82 | 1 |
| Women’s Regional Index Leaders | |||
| Region | Institution | Points | Last Week |
| Atlantic | Shippensburg | 421.01 | 1 |
| Central | Central Missouri | 414.24 | 2 |
| East | Southern Connecticut | 551.24 | 1 |
| Midwest | Grand Valley State | 516.58 | 1 |
| South | Shorter | 416.06 | 1 |
| South Central | New Mexico Highlands | 420.07 | 1 |
| Southeast | Queens (N.C.) | 446.04 | 1 |
| West | Azusa Pacific | 376.98 | 1 |
| View All Regional Rankings | |||
Division II Links
- List of Current USTFCCCA Members
- Division II Executive Council
- Division II Operating Bylaws
- Division II General Membership Handbook
- Division II Code of Ethics
- Athlete Hall of Fame Nomination Form
- Coaches Scholarship Information
- NCAA XC and Track & Field Rule Book
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