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Conference Title Not Enough to Keep Arkansas No. 1; Two-Time Champs Florida Moves Up

Oregon’s women still in the top spot with nice margin

February 28, 2012

NEW ORLEANS – Call it a stroke of odd timing, but despite winning the SEC title, Arkansas fell from No. 1 to No. 2 in the latest USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings for indoor track & field in Division I. Two-time defending national champions Florida took over the nation’s top spot as their runner-up bid at the SEC meet turned out more arrows for their NCAA-meet quiver. Oregon’s women are still No. 1 despite Stanford’s claim to the MPSF crown.

Arkansas topped Florida in the SEC Championships, 151-137, but the Gators were able to turn out eight season bests among their nationally-ranked marks to push them ahead of the Hogs. Florida returns to No. 1 for the first time since preseason rankings were released on January 10.

Among Florida’s improvements to their season ledger, sprinter Jeff Demps improved his national seed time in the 60 meters with a collegiate-leading 6.54 in the preliminary round. Junior Tony McQuay clocked 46.11 in the 400 meters on the oversized track in that event’s preliminary round. His time was even faster in the final, but he was disqualified after cutting off Georgia’s Torrin Lawrence at the top of the final turn. Junior Omar Craddock is currently the No. 2 seed in the triple jump, senior Kemal Mesic is the nation’s second-best performer in the shot put this season, and senior Gray Horn has the nation’s second-best heptathlon score. The Gators also have additional current top-five seeds by freshman Hugh Graham, Jr. (400 meters), sophomore Sean Obinwa (800 meters), and freshman Marquis Dendy (long jump).

Arkansas won their second indoor SEC title in three years, propelled by a mile, DMR anchor double win by freshman Patrick Rono. Freshman Andrew Irwin also set a new collegiate-leading mark in the pole vault with a mark of 18-1¾ (5.53m).

As it stands now, at the national championships, the possible rematch spots between Arkansas and Florida appear to be in the 400 meters and the heptathlon – key events for both squads in the bid for the NCAA title.

No. 3 Texas A&M won their second-straight indoor Big 12 title in their final appearance in the league. The Aggies join the SEC next year. Junior Ameer Weeb was one of A&M’s four individual champs in the meet. Webb ran a collegiate-leading 20.62 in the 200 meters.

LSU stayed at No. 4 while Arizona went up a spot to No. 5. BYU jumped eight spots to No. 8. The Cougars’ DMR squad ran a NCAA top-seed 9:29.00 on the oversized track in their MPSF Championship debut.

The SEC claims seven squads in the national top 25. The Big 12, Big Ten, and Pac-12 follow with four teams in the top 25.

Oregon’s women are in the top spot once again. The Ducks seemed to take a laid-back approach to the MPSF Championships last weekend, but finished in third place despite holding out some of their top nationally-ranked athletes.

Arkansas moved up two spots to No. 2, their highest ranking of the season, after a good weekend at the SEC Championships where they took third place, behind Florida and LSU. Arkansas senior Kristen Gillespie captured the league’s mile and 3000-meter championship title. Senior Tina Sutej reset her own collegiate record in the pole vault with a clearance of 14-11 (4.55m).

Clemson stayed at No. 3, but dominated the ACC Championships, winning their third-straight league crown. The Tigers took the title, 166-87 over nearest competitor Florida State. Freshman Dezerea Bryant swept the 60 (7.25) and 200 (23.26), improving her season bests in both.

LSU slipped two spots to No. 4 while Big 12 Champs Texas A&M stayed at No. 5. Aggie freshman Kamaria Brown notched a collegiate-leading 200-meter time of 22.86 for the conference crown.

Kansas moved up to No. 6 after recording a collegiate-leading 3:31.36 in the 4x400 relay to close out the Big 12 Championships. In addition, junior Andrea Geubelle recorded a new collegiate-leader in the triple jump with a winning mark of 44-7 (13.59m).

New to the women’s top ten this week is No. 8 California, No. 9 BYU, and No. 10 Washington.

The SEC leads all leagues with six teams in the top 25. The Pac-12 and Big 12 each have five in the mix.

With the exception of the SWAC Conference Championships and IC4A/ECAC Championships, this upcoming weekend for many squads is viewed as a last chance for qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Next week’s rankings will include only those athletes that were declared and accepted into the NCAA Championships.

The 2012 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held in Nampa, Idaho, on March 9-10.

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Tom Lewis

U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association

Communications Manager

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