Florida Men Take Over Top Spot in Division I Outdoor T&F National Team Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – With its men taking over the top spot and its women moving to No. 2, Florida was the biggest mover and shaker of the week one edition of the Division I National Team Computer Rankings released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Defending men’s co-national champion Florida has move to the top of the men’s rankings and recent indoor men’s national champion Oregon jumped to No. 2, while preseason favorite Arkansas dropped to No. 3.

On the women’s side, Texas A&M remained on top but the Florida women are charging hard, jumping up two positions to No. 2 – a program-best since the USTFCCCA rankings began in 2008. Five-time defending indoor national champion Oregon, meanwhile, fell two spots to No. 4.

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.

Preseason marks will be included in the rankings calculations through the week three edition.

Following a big weekend at their home Florida Relays, the Florida men and women both posted the biggest improvements to their team rankings scores with 45-point and 95-point gains, respectively.

Leading the way for the Florida men (345.46 team rankings score) was National Athlete of the Week Dedric Dukes, who posted a world-leading 19.97 at 200 meters.

Men’s Top Five 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Florida 345.46 pts Oregon 311.73 pts Arkansas 289.47 Texas A&M 287.67 pts Florida State 201.32 pts View Complete Men’s Rankings

A pair of top-10 800 meter runs – including preseason marks – from No. 3 Sean Obinwa and  No. 9 Andres Arroyo and ninth-ranked throwers Stipe Zunic (shot put) and Kyle Strawn (hammer throw) were also driving forces behind the jump.

This marks the sixth consecutive season during which the Gators have been ranked No. 1 at least once during the regular season.

The No. 2 Gator women (364.13) made up a lot of ground on No. 1 Texas A&M (387.95), which two weeks ago enjoyed a 110-point preseason advantage over the field.

Women’s Top Five 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Texas A&M 387.95 pts Florida 364.13 pts Texas 310.68 pts Oregon 267.17 pts Kentucky 237.23 pts View Complete Women’s Rankings

Florida turned in eight different performances ranked in the top 10 of the USTFCCCA event rankings, which still include preseason marks, headlined by No. 3 Robin Reynolds at 400 meters and No. 4 Kyra Jefferson at 200 meters.

Following the Florida men in the rankings were No. 2 Oregon (311.73), No. 3 Arkansas (289.47), No. 4 Texas A&M (287.67) and No. 5 Florida State (201.32).

The back half of the men’s top 10 was just as active as the front. Wisconsin (198.01) held steady at No. 6, while No. 7 LSU (169.45) and No. 8 Georgia (163.35) swapped spots from the preseason. No. 9 Alabama (160.77) improved one position, while No. 10 Texas Tech (154.11) jumped four positions to join the top 10.

Behind Texas A&M and Florida in the women’s top five were No. 3 Texas (310.68), No. 4 Oregon (267.17) and No. 5 Kentucky (237.23).

LSU (190.79) moved up two positions to No. 6, swapping spots from the preseason with No. 8 Georgia (158.80). No. 7 Southern California (168.79) remained stationary between the Lady Tigers and Lady Bulldogs.

No. 9 Arkansas (158.18) made the biggest move of any top-10 team in terms of position with a five-slot jump from two weeks ago, while defending outdoor national champion Kansas (138.30) held steady at No. 10.

Making the biggest leap in this week’s rankings were the UTSA men, who improved 21 positions to No. 22. This is just the second top-25 appearance for the program, the other coming in week six of 2008.

The largest top-25 improvement on the women’s side came courtesy of No. 17 Baylor, which climbed eight positions from the preseason.