Oregon Men Overtake Florida For No. 1 Spot in NCAA DI National Team Rankings

NEW ORLEANS—The first regular season edition of the NCAA Division I National Team Computer Rankings are in, and they feature a new men’s No. 1 and a women’s top-five shakeup. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released the rankings on Monday afternoon.

With marks from past seasons counting for the formula until week four, the best way to climb the ranks in the first three weeks is with outstanding performances from transfers and freshmen.

The No. 1 Oregon men jumped No. 2 Florida on the strength of three distance transfers from the Northeast. Eric Jenkins, Johnny Gregorek, and Will Geoghegan (running the 3k/5k) combined to add 27.19 points to the Ducks’ total. And the new No. 2 Georgia women—jumping two slots—got major points from first-year Keturah Orji’s American junior record performance in the triple jump.

Oregon, Florida, and Georgia were all competing at one of the most loaded indoor regular-season meets in recent memory: Kentucky’s Rod McCravy Invitational. Gregorek ran the 3k and Jenkins and Geoghegan ran the 5k on Kentucky’s 291-meter track, and Orji set her mark with a hop, skip, and jump down the runway at McCravy.

NCAA Division I National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Oregon Florida Arkansas Texas A&M Penn State View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll   NCAA Division I National Coaches’ Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Florida Georgia Texas A&M Oregon Arkansas View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

Further down the men’s poll:

Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Penn State stay unchanged at Nos. 3-5; right behind them is No. 6 Georgia, who climbed up from No. 11 in the preseason rankings. Ashinia Miller and Nick Vena’s mark in the shot put and Devon Williams’s score in the heptahlon at McCravy were the biggest factor in the Bulldogs’ rise.

Two of them men—the third, Clayton Vaughn of Texas-Arlington, is competing unattached—tied for the fastest 60 meter time in the world in 2015 have helped their teams skyrocket into the top 25. Baylor jumps 18 spots to No. 12 thanks to Trayvon Bromell’s sprinting. (In addition to his world-leading 60m giving the Bears 21.88 points, his 20.80 200m from the week before was also worth 7.89 points) And No. 16 Oklahoma State climbs from its preseason No. 31 ranking thanks to John Teeters, who is tied atop the collegiate leaderboard with Bromell.

Teeters ran his 6.54 the weekend before last at Nebraska; Bromell tied his mark at McCravy.

Also joining the men’s top 25 are No. 21 Tennessee and No. 25 Virginia Tech. The Hokies are the top 25’s biggest climber, jumping 37 spots thanks to major points in the pole vault, triple jump, and weight throw.

On the women’s side:

The hurdles, sprints, and jumps at McCravy helped the No. 1 Florida Gators hold on to the top spot. Bridgette Owens (hurdles), Ciarra Brewer (triple jump), Robin Reynolds, Destinee Gause, Claudia Francis, and Kyra Jefferson (4×400 relay) combined to create 55.14 points at McCravy.

That was just enough for the Gators to hold off new No. 2 Georgia by seven and a half points. The Bulldogs, also competing in Lexington, leapfrogged now- No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 4 Oregon.

In addition to Keturah Orji putting up major points in the jumps, the Dawgs’ two pentathletes combined to add more than thirty points to the team’s total. While Kendell Williams’s pentathlon score from a year ago is a hair better than hers from Friday, her long jump (within the pent) was such a huge personal best that it added 15.81 points to the Dawgs’ total. And her teammate Quintunya Chapman was no slouch in Kentucky, setting a new PB that’s currently the third best score in the NCAA.

No. 5 Arkansas was vaulted into the top five by former collegiate record holder Sandi Morris and Desiree Freier, plus an excellent 4×400 at McCravy. With Morris, Kaitlin Petrillose, and Demi Payne all having personal bests over 4.60m, Freier has flown under the radar in the Year of the Vault, but her 4.33m is just two centimeters shy of the American junior record.

Also joining the top 25 are No. 17 Southern California, No. 18 Akron, and No. 24 Baylor. USC—up from No. 31 in the preseason—is the biggest mover in the top 25, mostly thanks to sprinters Ky Westbrook and Alexis Faulknor.

With the regular season in full swing, the team rankings will be released on each of the six Monday afternoons between now and the NCAA championships on March 13. As mentioned above, the next two rankings will still factor in marks from past years.

The biggest meet for next week’s rankings will likely be Saturday’s Razorback Invitational at Arkansas, the site of nationals. Among other top teams there will be Florida, Texas A&M, Texas, Florida State, LSU, Stanford, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and host Arkansas.