Texas A&M Men, Kansas Women No. 1 in DI Rankings Amid Top-Five Shake-Up

NEW ORLEANS – Some minor shuffling took place within the top five of both the men’s and women’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Computer Rankings, one week ahead of the removal of preseason data and the potential for a much larger shake-up.

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The Texas A&M men and Kansas women remained No. 1 as they have been for the previous three editions of the rankings, but a handful of teams swapped places within the top five. The Texas A&M women moved up to No. 2, swapping places with indoor champion Oregon, while LSU and Florida switched spots to No. 4 and 5, respectively.

The Florida State men bumped up one spot to No. 5, displacing Texas to No. 6.

Preseason national team rankings are calculated using data from previous seasons as a base of evaluation. Marks gained in the early part of this season will supersede previous-year marks if they are superior. Read more about the process here. The “event rankings” referenced in this article include this season’s marks in addition to returners’ marks from 2012.

Women’s Top Five Shuffled

Four of the top five teams in the women’s rankings sustained a net loss to their team scores, resulting in four teams swapping spots within the top five. Kansas remained No. 1 at 329.21 team points despite a 5.49 point net loss.

Texas A&M remained relatively stationary in terms of team score, dropping just 0.39 net points to 279.45, but moved up to No. 2 as the beneficiary of No. 3 Oregon falling 6.78 net points to a team score of 275.78. The Aggies’ were buoyed by their sprinting corps, including sophomore Olivia Ekpone giving the team a fourth sprinter in the top 15 of the 100 meter event rankings — which for the final time this week include the top 2012 marks of returning student-athletes — with an 11.27w (+4.0m/s), ranked No. 11. She joins No. 3 Ashley Collier, No. 6 Ashton Purvis and No. 10 Jennifer Madu.

Oregon did not compete at a major meet this weekend and did not have any student-athletes improve upon their positions in the event rankings.

LSU was the only team in the top five to increase its team score, rising 3.73 net points to 261.72. Sophomore Tori Bliss was the driving force behind the improvement, moving up from No. 47 to No. 13 in the shot put event rankings with a 55-11 (17.04m).

Displaced by LSU was SEC rival Florida, which suffered the biggest hit of the top five in falling 11.36 net points to 246.69. The Gators did not compete this past weekend.

Texas A&M Men Still on Top

Each of the top eight teams in the men’s rankings sustained net losses from their team scores, including top-ranked Texas A&M. The Aggies slipped 4.47 net points to 327.57, but were able to maintain a lead over indoor champ No. 2 Arkansas, which dropped 3.8 points to 302.63.

By virtue of losing fewer points than the top two teams, defending champion Florida inched closer to the top of the rankings. The idle Gators lost just 1.51 net points for a team score of 294.92.

No. 4 Oregon did not record any marks or times that bettered their existing entries in the event rankings — which for the last time include the top 2012 marks of returning student-athletes — resulting in a slight 5.89 net point drop to 207.08.

Like its rival from Gainesville, No. 5 Florida State jumped past No. 6 Texas by losing fewer points. The Seminoles dropped 1.92 to 203.72, while Texas fell to 201.53 with a net loss of 7.78.

Biggest Jump (Men): 13 – Georgia
Biggest Jump (Women): 6 – Georgia