Findlay Men & New Mexico Highlands Women Enter NCAA DII Championships as Narrow Favorites

Findlay Men & New Mexico Highlands Women Enter NCAA DII Championships as Narrow Favorites

NEW ORLEANS – Heading into this weekend’s NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships March 13-14 in Birmingham, Alabama, there will be not one, but two new No. 1 teams.

The Findlay men and the New Mexico Highlands women both moved to the tops of their respective genders’ U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Computer Rankings with just days left until the national team titles are on the line at the CrossPlex in Birmingham.

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CHAMPIONSHIPS ENTRIES BREAKDOWN BY TEAM
(also by conference)

PDFs
Top 25 | By Team | By Event
Top TFRRS Qualifiers
# of Top-10 Athletes by Team

Rankings History
By Rank | By Team | All-Time

NCAA Division II Rankings Central

RELATED:

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National Championships Central

The battles for those team titles can be watched live via webstream on NCAA.com.

Findlay regained the top spot after having previously attained it in early February, while New Mexico Highlands is brand new to the No. 1 spot in the rankings. For the men, this is the sixth time the No. 1 position has changed hands – including between three teams from the GLIAC – while the women’s No. 1 has traded teams three times.

Though Findlay and NMHU are the top teams in the pre-NCAAs rankings, they are far from prohibitive favorites.

Using the rankings formula, which assigns more points to higher-seeded athletes and sums the totals of all of each teams’ athletes (it is not analogous to the NCAA points scoring system), the women’s race is projected to be ultra-tight.

New Mexico Highlands checked in with 162.93 points, just over seven ahead of both No. 2 Central Missouri (155.64) and No. 3 Ashland (155.46) – both of which have been ranked No. 1 for three weeks apiece earlier this season. Ashland dropped from the top spot it held in the rankings a week ago.

A title for any of these schools would be their first. Ashland has come the closest with a co-runner-up finish in 2010 behind Lincoln (Mo.) with GLIAC rival Grand Valley State. Central Missouri was third in 2009, while NMHU was sixth a year ago.

Speaking of GVSU, the lone remaining women’s team with more than 100 points were the Lakers with 116.45. GVSU last won national team indoor titles back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.

Findlay’s men checked in at 165.70, just 10 points ahead of No. 2 Grand Valley State (155.26) and less than 20 better than returning national runner-up No. 3 Adams State (148.70). Also still very much in the hunt is No. 4 Ashland, as the former No. 1 posted a team score of 134.22 this week.

NCAA Division II National Team Rankings Top 5 – Men

1)Findlay 2)GVSU 3)Adams State 4)Ashland 5)Minnesota St
Findlay Grand Valley St. Adams St.. Ashland Tiffin
View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll

 

NCAA Division II National Team Rankings Top 5 – Women

1)Lincoln MO 2)Central Missouri 3)Ashland 4)GVSU 5)GVSU
NM Highlands Central Missouri Ashland Grand Valley St. Lincoln (Mo.)
View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

Neither Findlay, Grand Valley nor Ashland have ever won national indoor team titles, while Adams State won in 2010 and has finished runner-up four other times.

Findlay’s best finish was fourth in 2012, while Grand Valley finished fourth both in 2008 and 2013. Ashland has finished runner-up twice, in 2011 and 2013.

Two more men’s teams came in with totals higher than 100 points. Tiffin moved up a spot to No. 5 – giving the GLIAC four of the nation’s top five teams – with 115.45 points, while Colorado Mines dropped a spot to No. 6 with 104.12.

Two-time defending national champion Saint Augustine’s checked in at No. 7.

Breaking Down the Women’s Race

No women’s team has more entrants into the championships than No. 4 Grand Valley State with 16, compared to 12 for No. 3 Ashland; 11 apiece for No. 1 NMHU, No. 2 Central Missouri, and No. 9 defending national champion Adams State; and 10 for defending outdoor national champion No. 5 Lincoln (Mo.).

More than half of NMHU’s entries are in the sprints, hurdles and relays (seven), while Ashland is powered by its throws corps (eight entires) and Central Missouri has five in the jumps. Grand Valley has eight in the distance events and six in the jumps, while Adams State has four in the distance events and three in the sprints/hurdles.

What separates the top three teams from the rest of the field, however, are their abundances of top-ranked talent. NM Highlands, Central Missouri and Ashland all have 10 entries in the NCAA Championships fields ranked among top 10 seeds.

All three schools have a pair of Division II leaders. For New Mexico Highlands, it’s DII long jump record holder Shanice McPherson and pentathlon leader/all-around star Salcia Slack (more on her in a moment). Central Missouri has Erika Kinsey atop both the high jump and the triple jump, and Ashland has shot put leader Jamie Sindelar and weight throw leader Shatora Lewis.

Both NMHU and Ashland also have a pair of second seeds.

Central Missouri has all 10 of its top-10 seeds ranked among the top seven in their events, while New Mexico Highlands have all ten of their top-10 national performers ranked within each events’ top eight.

Moreso than any other team, New Mexico Highlands will be depending upon the performance of one athlete to buoy its national title hopes in Salcia Slack. Of those 10 top-10 entries for NMHU, Slack accounts for four plus a relay leg. In addition to being the top-ranked pentathlete, she is also No. 2 in the hurdles, No. 4 in the triple jump and No. 5 in the long jump.

Breaking Down the Men’s Race

Findlay may be the top-ranked team, but with 13 entries into the championships it is not the best-represented. That honor goes to No. 2 Grand Valley State with 15 entries, and the Oilers were also surpassed by Ashland with 14.

No. 3 Adams State has 10, as do No. 5 Tiffin, No. 6 Colorado Mines and No. 7 Saint Augustine’s – the two-time defending national champions.

The title will likely be determined by which team performs the best in the throwing events. Findlay has six of its 13 entries in the shot put or weight throw, while Ashland has an impressive nine men entered into those two events. Grand Valley State also has five, but the Lakers are also the most balanced of the three teams with multiple entrants in each of the broad disciplines of the sport: sprints/hurdles/relays, mid-distance/distance, jumps, and throws.

GVSU also has the edge in total entrants ranked among the top-10 seeds in their respective events. The Lakers have 12 such entrants, compared to 10 for Findlay, nine for Tiffin and eight for both Adams State and Ashland.

No team will be depending upon its top guns more than Adams State, which has four top-seeded entries – headlined by No. 1 miler and 5000-meter runner Matt Daniels, No. 1 3000-meter runner Kevin Batt and the No. 1distance medley relay – and another second seed. GVSU has three second seeds and another third-seeded entrant.

Findlay, Tiffin, Ashland, and No. 9 Minnesota State all have three entries seeded among the top-three in their respective events, including two top-seeds each for Findlay, Tiffin and Minnesota State.

Findlay is led by weight throw leader Justin Welch and shot put leader Taylor Miller; Tiffin is powered by top-ranked Lamar Hargrove at 200 meters and the No. 1 4×400 relay team; and Minnesota State has DII 60-meter hurdles record holder Myles Hunter and 60-meters leader Emmanuel Matadi.

 

USTFCCCA NCAA Division II

Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25)

2015 Week #7 — March 9 (pre-championships)

next ranking: final, NCAA Championships, March 13-14
Rank Institution Points Conference Head Coach (Yr) Last Week
1 Findlay 165.70 GLIAC Marc Arce (27th) 2
2 Grand Valley State 155.26 GLIAC Jerry Baltes (16th) 3
3 Adams State 148.70 RMAC Rock Light (2nd) 1
4 Ashland 134.22 GLIAC Jud Logan (12th) 4
5 Tiffin 115.45 GLIAC Jeremy Croy (15th) 6
6 Colorado Mines 104.12 RMAC Matt Sparks (2nd) 5
7 Saint Augustine’s 91.22 CIAA George Williams (39th) 8
8 Central Missouri 89.96 MIAA Kirk Pedersen (19th)/Kip Janvrin (17th) 9
9 Minnesota State 84.72 NSIC Jim Dilling (2nd) 7
10 Western State 81.41 RMAC Chris Bradford (6th) 11
11 Pittsburg State 69.07 MIAA Russ Jewett (27th) 10
12 Texas A&M-Kingsville 68.01 Lone Star Ryan Dall (7th) 12
13 American International 63.15 Northeast-10 Leo Mayo (9th) 19
14 Missouri Southern 54.28 MIAA Bryan Schiding (2nd) 16
15 Texas A&M-Commerce 53.55 Lone Star Tom Dibbern (2nd) 15
16 Lewis 51.56 GLVC Dana Schwarting (10th) 18
17 Southern Indiana 50.67 GLVC Mike Hillyard (17th) 17
18 Emporia State 48.90 MIAA Steve Blocker (4th) 14
19 Black Hills State 46.85 RMAC Seth Mischke (4th) 23
20 Sioux Falls 45.14 NSIC Reid Ehrisman (3rd) 20
21 Academy of Art 43.82 PacWest Charles Ryan (5th) 24
22 Neb.-Kearney 43.18 MIAA Brady Bonsall (7th) 21
23 West Texas A&M 39.74 Lone Star Darren Flowers (6th) 22
24 Southern Connecticut 39.28 Northeast-10 John Wallin (5th) 25
25 Hillsdale 35.93 GLIAC Andrew Towne (1st) 26
dropped out: No. 13 CSU-Pueblo
View All Teams Beyond the Top 25

 

Men’s Conference Index Top 10
Rank Conference Points Top 25 Teams
1 GLIAC 649.78 5
2 RMAC 458.42 4
3 MIAA 358.82 5
4 Lone Star 164.90 3
5 NSIC 159.82 2
6 GLVC 130.64 2
7 Northeast-10 129.81 2
8 CIAA 110.84 1
9 GNAC 92.39
10 PacWest 65.10 1

 

Men’s Regional Index Leaders (FINAL)
Region Institution Points
Atlantic Shippensburg 545.92
Central Minnesota State 293.27
East American International 426.55
Midwest Grand Valley State 447.52
South Shorter 704.59
South Central Texas A&M-Commerce 367.66
Southeast Mount Olive 482.82
West Western Washington 395.45
View All Regional Rankings

 

USTFCCCA NCAA Division II

Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25)

2015 Week #7 — March 9 (pre-championships)

next ranking: final, NCAA Championships, March 13-14
Rank Institution Points Conference Head Coach (Yr) Last Week
1 New Mexico Highlands 162.93 RMAC Bob DeVries (23rd) 3
2 Central Missouri 155.64 MIAA Kirk Pedersen (19th)/Kip Janvrin (17th) 2
3 Ashland 155.46 GLIAC Jud Logan (12th) 1
4 Grand Valley State 116.45 GLIAC Jerry Baltes (16th) 4
5 Lincoln (Mo.) 97.94 MIAA Victor Thomas (14th) 6
6 Hillsdale 91.57 GLIAC Andrew Towne (4th) 5
7 New Haven 77.51 Northeast-10 Shaunnaya Williams (4th) 9
8 U-Mary 73.54 NSIC Mike Thorson (21st) 8
9 Adams State 72.90 RMAC Rock Light (2nd) 10
10 Southern Connecticut 71.82 Northeast-10 Melissa Stoll (3rd) 11
11 Pittsburg State 63.13 MIAA Russ Jewett (29th) 12
12 Minnesota Duluth 61.72 NSIC Joanna Warmington (4th) 20
13 Angelo State 57.49 Lone Star James Reid (16th) 14
14 Simon Fraser 57.28 GNAC Brit Townsend (15th) 7
15 Azusa Pacific 50.81 PacWest Preston Grey (1st) 23
16 Augustana (S.D.) 50.71 NSIC Tracy Hellman (15th) 17
17 Johnson C. Smith 49.32 CIAA Lennox Graham (8th) 13
18 Missouri Southern 43.92 MIAA Patty Vavra (21st) 32
19 Lewis 43.46 GLVC Dana Schwarting (10th) 16
20 Chadron State 43.29 RMAC Brad Gamble (1st) 22
21 West Texas A&M 42.72 Lone Star Darren Flowers (6th) 21
22 Colorado Mesa 40.29 RMAC Matt Canterbury (3rd) 30
23 Bellarmine 39.35 GLVC Jim Vargo (15th) 18
24 Saginaw Valley State 37.44 GLIAC Rod Cowan (6th) 24
25 Wayne State (Neb.) 36.27 NSIC Marlon Brink (15th) 25
dropped out: No. 15 Harding, No. 19 Livingstone
View All Teams Beyond the Top 25

 

Women’s Conference Index Top 10
Rank Conference Points Top 25 Teams
1 GLIAC 451.89 4
2 MIAA 385.76 4
3 RMAC 368.81 4
4 NSIC 342.18 4
5 Northeast-10 215.28 2
6 Lone Star 146.41 2
7 CIAA 138.35 1
8 GLVC 113.83 2
9 GNAC 109.93 1
10 PacWest 78.94 1

 

Women’s Regional Index Leaders (FINAL)
Region Institution Points
Atlantic Slippery Rock 302.93
Central Central Missouri 305.53
East Southern Connecticut 491.32
Midwest Grand Valley State 509.73
South Alabama-Huntsville 660.40
South Central Adams State 427.53
Southeast Queens (N.C.) 348.81
West Seattle Pacific 369.25
View All Regional Rankings

 

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Presenting sponsor of USTFCCCA Polls and Rankings



Week-by-Week Ranking

Only showing those with a season-best ranking in the top 25.
TeamWeek #1Week #2Week #3Week #4Week #5Week #6Week #7Week #8Week #9Week #10FINAL
Florida1013356333441
Arkansas193111211112
Stanford84101415151717161573
LSU25595668754
Arizona State182432292913132120115
Texas Tech74422122226
Georgia46329101216164337
Alabama457744445598
Washington30282811111010111089
BYU272268989111410
Harvard420183121232227242611
Virginia69132327303023212711
Texas10118912121091213
Houston1314192730313124272814
Florida State1439402614111114141315
Wisconsin64701217141515231715
Nebraska2761410151466617
Arizona1244252124252529281817
Baylor2018202022292728262319
Minnesota111122223222322222420
Miami (Fla.)6754233535363735353521
Tennessee63683355781022
Oklahoma5156625045353620171622
Texas A&M536394442495538342022
South Alabama3658483738414341383725
South Florida5450464850454765615625
Southern California6216151819191912121527
Oklahoma State52433228282926252127
Penn State7422164551515050474727
Montana State89896943433433493330
Akron10768656862606464665730
Louisville18615171616181817162532
North Carolina9914111113240404434313132
Mississippi State1625272831272837333432
California334211920202030293632
Kentucky813223333343531302936
Iowa15121013138918193037
Ohio State4023293436383845433837
UCLA1121262532333240404437
Missouri64515686899910180815237
UTEP119152151901061151211221195537
Syracuse6657545166656782827737
Cincinnati127177105102112767987939337
South Carolina2130353834373947445344
Wake Forest49849214848464953486844
Gonzaga9091109103107109103918044
Clemson19811777713131947
Kansas10317241718212119182247
Michigan State7773763941424543414047
Drake1201131254749505452505047
Notre Dame178899130129899075747147
Fairleigh Dickinson10410711459646572717447
Liberty838798959911011911911410347
Alabama State60921021121081169811110310547
Northern Arizona2533343037323336375855
Southeastern Louisiana6872725556555674736955
Navy538690918183931011027555
Eastern Kentucky10817317410476727479788155
North Carolina A&T1143736677387871301289055
Princeton921341265458544142394360
Ole Miss3426303626242632364161
Oregon109154112146150737683804261
Villanova311288065808286105995961
UTSA2838445370888959586061
Iowa State4343534347475354526161
Cal Poly1131301407887918586856561
Butler981581608391949188867961
Auburn3229332425262425323268
Southern Utah1901651541061171311451141158468
New Mexico118788488104113120636239
Tulsa555042393940394245
Duke24414141444851615646
Kennesaw State851016658616166676848
NC State3898104142147160164898949
Stephen F. Austin140654746555658556051
Rice42454557575748444654
North Dakota State22466072717477818362
Virginia Tech58353740464446486363
ULM828770646668605764
Middle Tennessee12117118511511084103585566
Portland635963828184909267
Northern Iowa111116123131100115929070
Air Force168818394745961696572
Georgetown21462525252665473
Arkansas State70959775727073767576
Indiana5042421009710159515178
Colorado State205624964677175858482
Rhode Island14712513113112413578847983
Saint Louis76838610714313914613612685
Connecticut75140958998114123948786
Michigan106979673949892565387
Wichita State8180737778798010610788
San Jose State128138147929297102989689
TCU23475149535860626491
Delaware State17219720117217817517392
Monmouth15285838595969794
Rutgers1009110811386929911210895
Purdue8710013514315416217113213096
Illinois4711711587859010010711097
Youngstown State17177788179758810410598
North Texas16612014314914812914211010499
Georgia Tech377582991019397109109100
Little Rock59107114110118132138125121101
Arkansas-Pine Bluff102131127124126154157156151101
Texas State3331385663697195101104
Wyoming205155162178189190134133106
Kansas State136118749695102112116122107
Charlotte396769746968727776108
Jackson State4159578488109111133131109
USC Upstate180114124132146137109
Furman169145144150148146111
Southeast Missouri657975767780817167112
Cornell9494111123112116117111113
Weber State135129119137125137135134114
Louisiana Tech141858898111122147143141115
Long Beach State94864103115121131124123116
Northeastern489393108119119129149136117
Campbell72102106105116961054945118
Albany1761451568093106117121113119
Eastern Washington78144195155168183186162162120
Maryland137163172154133149155155155121
Louisiana44103119135134143161167149122
Hampton1747067716563636869123
UNC-Wilmington97126138166158164135140140124
Providence356158616867697372125
Florida International170191202179193179126
Iona61139144157164173171127
Miami (Ohio)88116113121140142148145144128
Penn80151149668478829195129
North Florida957168141180183187172130
Pittsburgh89121122145156159167150143131
Washington State914963971058696126125132
Indiana State152157161158168168175181166132
Brown176170183185187179132
Samford163182198147144148165166164135
Southern Miss577679127142145154184178136
Texas Southern173140141138137
Howard69119117525453575759
Northwestern State264052606062627070
Davidson129149136166167155707877
East Carolina1771851911731621791849788
Utah Valley936055597577839394
California Baptist861221188210210510410098
Eastern Illinois21410610112012012313399100
Utah State192123124144969594102106
Grand Canyon529610010190104108115112
Colorado696193109103106108116
Idaho State73114166118117
Santa Clara108103118113117122120118
South Dakota144181179136146138151123120
North Dakota82109109128139118125127124
Yale162183187188155156126128127
Army West Point122148159122122126124131129
Eastern Michigan296671117127128143147132
Columbia165200139182149151127137135
New Orleans158160179190164176139144139
UMass Lowell149188195173153130139142
VCU135115133140136134141142145
South Dakota State169145129128137149154147
Boston University188170179153135133144169148
Memphis130180183188193147162152150
Cal State Fullerton104127141134132130118138151
UTRGV90124123137141140152159153
Bradley105161163138153157163161154
Southern Illinois131168167179160160169158156
DePaul111142150133130127157162157
Kent State200186139138136159183158
Idaho181137134159171146156165159
Loyola-Chicago145150148168178175177173160
Incarnate Word1395381157166150107153161
CSUN142146155150151164168170163
Troy153179137151152152160162164
High Point167162178152159158166168167
UMBC133167171163165169174171168
UC Santa Barbara5599121163176185128160169
Montana201184187186172172176174169
Abilene Christian112153175183193178174
Boise State132133132175
Norfolk State187173186176
Dartmouth94105120161170170181180177
George Mason16185126121120136175179
Bethune-Cookman159147168169183185187179
Coppin State198164179183179193179
Western Illinois177180184
UNC Asheville208185181182181184185
Mount St. Mary's185129146162177190190186
Illinois State211177179189192187
Texas A&M-Commerce1101161251414246
Portland State747779107111113113
Oakland131127124100108110128
UT Arlington125136130160163162170151
Milwaukee114156
Tarleton State96153165173171
UC San Diego115157156161167172175
Prairie View A&M148166177175181178178178
Coastal Carolina156197181189171181182
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi184133
Lamar175153
St. Thomas (Minn.)170173172185
Northern Colorado142157175187190190
Florida A&M117156173183188188
Rider153189193191190
South Carolina State200194
Lipscomb110164165172191195
Houston Christian124174189195
Central Connecticut State164186190191196
La Salle116159182187
Fresno State79110142
Gardner-Webb71112169
Southern150196170
Stony Brook123175184
Tennessee State199191
William & Mary193
VMI195
Saint Francis (Pa.)160190198
St. Francis Brooklyn192200
ETSU126172
UC Riverside134176
Wofford143178
McNeese State151187
Pepperdine153193
Western Carolina157194
New Hampshire194
Manhattan201199
N.C. Central197202
Kansas City56
Charleston Southern138
Tulane146
Buffalo178
Belmont179
Toledo182
Grambling State183
Alabama A&M189
Maine191
Lehigh192
Saint Joseph's192
Wagner195
Ohio196
UC Irvine203
Central Arkansas204
Alcorn State205
Valparaiso208
Siena208
Queens (N.C.)211
Loyola Marymount213
Oral Roberts214

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field

2015 Rankings Calendar
Weeks National TFRIRegional TFRIConference TFRI#EventSquad KEY DATES
PreseasonTue 1/6
MEN | WOMEN
Week 1Mon 1/26
MEN | WOMEN
Mon 1/26
MEN | WOMEN
Week 2Mon 2/2
MEN | WOMEN
Mon 2/2
MEN | WOMEN
Week 3Mon 2/9
MEN | WOMEN
Mon 2/9
MEN | WOMEN
Week 4Mon 2/16
MEN | WOMEN
Mon 2/16
MEN | WOMEN
Week 5Mon 2/23
MEN | WOMEN
Mon 2/23
MEN | WOMEN
Week 6Mon 3/2
MEN | WOMEN
Mon 3/2
MEN | WOMEN
Week 7Mon 3/9
MEN | WOMEN
FINAL ResultsSat 3/14
MEN | WOMEN