The Florida men's team continues to dominate.
NEW ORLEANS — Newsflash: The Southeastern Conference is really good at track & field.
RANKINGS: USTFCCCA Poll
All right, we’re not necessarily breaking news here but the most recent National Team Computer Rankings that were released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) reasserted that fact.
Five of the top-6 teams in the NCAA Division I Men’s Indoor Track & Field Rankings are from the SEC, led by top-ranked Florida for the third consecutive version. The Gators own a 37.76-point advantage over No. 2 Oregon, the only non-SEC team in the top-6.
For those uninitiated, points in the USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings are based off the NCAA Division I Descending Order Lists in addition to the USTFCCCA Individual Rankings. The better an athlete performs in his event, the more points he provides to his team in the National Team Computer Rankings. Each athlete’s points are then added up to give a team its total in the rankings.
The top-3 remained the same for yet another week as Florida topped Oregon and No. 3 LSU. The Ducks gained a few points on the Gators, but the Tigers lost ground.
.@ijump_524 Summary:
— Gators T & F and XC (@GatorsTF) January 28, 2017
Ties NCAA lead - 16.66m / 54-8
Improves No. mark on all-time list
Wins #RazorbackInvite by 3+ feet #GoGators pic.twitter.com/0pVzmsjFIM
Arkansas went from No. 5 to No. 4 this week as Josh Washington worked his way inside the top-10 over 200 meters. Washington clocked a time of 20.71, which left him at No. 8 on the USTFCCCA Individual Rankings and gave the Razorbacks 8.88 more points.
The biggest jump of the week went to Texas A&M (No. 14 to No. 5) and rightfully so. The Aggies watched their 4×400 team of Fred Kerley, Richard Rose, Devin Dixon and Mylik Kerley broke the program’s own collegiate record from 2015 with a new-record time of 3:02.52. That mark also stands as the fourth fastest on the all-time world list.
Fred Kerley and Mylik Kerley also stood out in their individual events as the former is now No. 4 in the 200 and the latter is No. 6 in the 400. Lindon Victor bettered his PR in the heptathlon to 5805 points and is now No. 7 in those Individual Rankings.
Another team that improved nine spots was Kansas. The Jayhawks went from No. 20 to No. 11 and tied its best ranking in program history (2008 Preseason) after Gleb Dudarev (WT) and Nicolai Ceban (SP) surged into the top-5 of their respective throwing events.
.@SpeedyArroyo opens his season with the No. time in Division I.
— Gators T & F and XC (@GatorsTF) January 28, 2017
Just 1.05 seconds off his school record #GoGators
(@SECNetwork) pic.twitter.com/BSwCzoV7Z2
Though a bit more understated, Michigan, Washington and Southern Illinois all worked their way up the rankings.
The Wolverines went from No. 24 to No. 19 after Ned Willig moved up to No. 9 in the Individual Rankings for the mile.
The Huskies jumped from No. 25 to No. 20 after Colby Gilbert’s effort in the 3000 that put him 2nd in the Individual Rankings.
The Salukis soared 26 spots to No. 23 after Jared Kern’s throw of 19.95m (65-5½) landed him 3rd in the shot put rankings.
Expect an incredible finish to the season that comes to a head March 10-11 at the 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships in College Station, Texas.
