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Division I Outdoor TandF National Team Rankings Set Up Exciting Conference Championship Weekend - USTFCCCAPublished by
Division I Outdoor T&F National Team Rankings Set Up Exciting Conference Championship WeekendBy Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA May 13, 2014 NEW ORLEANS – With the release of the week six edition of the outdoor track & field Division I National Team Computer Rankings Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the stage is set for the final weekend of conference championship action.
And if the rankings are any indicator, what a weekend it should be. Florida’s men and women both remained No. 1 in the nation for the second consecutive week, but both will face stiff challenges from a host of national ranked teams beginning Thursday at the SEC Championships at Kentucky. The defending national co-champion Gator men (328.79 team rankings score) will square off with rival co-champion No. 2 Texas A&M (261.12); No. 4 Arkansas (223.37; No. 7 Georgia (158.03); No. 9 LSU (150.15) and No. 11 Alabama (139.19) among the conference’s nine ranked teams. Florida’s women (372.15) won’t have any easier a task with No. 4 Texas A&M (281.63); No. 5 Georgia (231.84); No. 6 Kentucky (216.34); No. 7 LSU (210.25) and No. 8 Arkansas (193.24) among eight top-25 squads. The National Team Computer Rankings are designed to reflect the potential of a given team in a national championship meet setting, and not necessarily at a smaller meet like the conference championships with fewer teams represented. The SEC isn’t the loaded league meet this weekend by a long shot, with both the Pac-12 Championships and Big 12 Championships featuring multiple top-15 programs. A full breakdown of men’s conference representation can be found here, and the women’s here.
This year’s indoor national champion Oregon men and women will both face at least two top-15 squads at Washington State this Saturday and Sunday. The women (293.12) will see No. 10 Stanford (163.42), No. 11 Southern California (154.52) and No. 12 Arizona (129.08) as part of a field with six top-25 teams. The Duck men (230.28) moved up a spot to No. 3, and will have to contend with the likes of No. 12 UCLA (127.29) and No. 15 Southern California (120.24). At the Big 12 Championships at Texas Tech this Friday through Sunday, the No. 2 Texas women (361.10) will face off with No. 14 Baylor (101.00) and defending national champion No. 16 Kansas (94.06).
The Oklahoma State men moved up to No. 5 as the top-ranked men’s team in the conference, displacing Texas Tech (159.48) to No. 6 with Texas (148.67) and Baylor (126.64) looming at No. 10 and No. 13, respectively. Other top-10 teams in action at non-conference championship meets include the No. 8 BYU men (150.42), up three spots from last week, and the No. 9 Florida State women (169.08), up two from last week. The Florida State men made the farthest move of any top-25 team with a 17-position jump to No. 25. FSU had been ranked in the top five earlier this season. Kent State’s women, also No. 25, made the biggest jump on the women’s side with an 11-spot improvement. The purpose and methodology of the rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national team race. Rankings points do not equate with NCAA Championships team points. A full description of the rankings can be found here.
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