Thursday, January 19, 2012

Lincoln (Mo.), St. Augustine's and JCSU Are Preseason Top Teams in Division II Indoor Track and Field

St. Aug's Falcons Head Coach George
Williams has won  31 NCAA Division II
indoor and outdoor titles combined.
NEW ORLEANS  –  The men’s team at Lincoln University of Missouri and the women’s team at Grand Valley State University are the preseason No. 1-ranked teams in the country for the 2012 NCAA indoor track & field season in Division II. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national team computer rankings placed Lincoln – who placed third at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships – and Grand Valley State – the nation’s defending champion women’s team – in the top spot.

Lincoln’s men returns a squad that placed third (41 points) at last year’s NCAA Championships. The Blue Tigers return defending 200-meter champion Terrel Cotton among five other individual scorers set to make another run in 2012. In addition, Lincoln sophomore Romel Lewis currently leads the division with a 6.67 clocking in the 60 meters that was recorded in December.

Defending men’s national team champions Abilene Christian begin the season at No. 24 in the national rankings. Of the 49 points scored last year to win the national crown, only five return for the Wildcats with now-senior Nick Jones in the shot put (fourth place). No. 2 Saint Augustine’s placed sixth at last year’s indoor championships and is looking for their first indoor crown since 2009. No. 3 Adams State – seventh a year ago – won the NCAA title in 2010. Ashland, last year’s runner-up team, starts the season at No. 4 and returns defending weight throw champ Ryan Loughney who has already bettered his season-best from last year in the event.

Defending men’s national team champions Abilene Christian begin the season at No. 24 in the national rankings. Of the 49 points scored last year to win the national crown, only five return for the Wildcats with now-senior Nick Jones in the shot put (fourth place). No. 2 Saint Augustine’s placed sixth at last year’s indoor championships and is looking for their first indoor crown since 2009. No. 3 Adams State – seventh a year ago – won the NCAA title in 2010. Ashland, last year’s runner-up team, starts the season at No. 4 and returns defending weight throw champ Ryan Loughney who has already bettered his season-best from last year in the event.


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Falcons Second In Preseason D-II Men's Indoor Track & Field Poll

RALEIGH, North Carolina - Saint Augustine's College is ranked second in the preseason NCAA Division II men's poll for the 2012 indoor track and field season. The rankings were released Tuesday (Jan. 17) by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The Falcons, who placed sixth among the men's teams last season at the NCAA Indoor Championships, received 129.28 points from the USTFCCCA national computer rankings. Lincoln (Mo.) is the preseason top men's squad with 176.75 points and Adams State is third with 124.29 points.

The Falcons are led by senior Christopher Copeland (Suffolk, Va.), who automatically qualified for indoor nationals in the high jump. Copeland leaped 7-1 ¾ at the CNU Holiday Classic in December 2011.

Four other Falcons have provisionally qualified for indoor nationals. They are junior Ramaan Ansley (60 Dash /6.84), junior Gerkenz Senesca (60 Hurdles/8.02), senior Jason Boyd (Waycross, Ga./60 Hurdles/8.03) and sophomore Eddie Shelton (Deltona, Fla./high jump/6-11 ¾).

In the USTFCCCA women's Division II poll, Saint Augustine's College is ranked 14th with 49.42 points. Sophomore Nicketa Bernard (Westmoreland, Jamaica) has provisionally qualified in the 400 dash in 57.74.

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Blue Tigers' Men's Track & Field Team Tops USTFCCCA Preseason Rankings

Women's Team Slated Second in NCAA DIvision II


JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri - The Lincoln men's track & field team is the preseason No. 1 NCAA Division II team in the country, according to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national team computer rankings, released on Tuesday (Jan. 17). Additionally, Lincoln's women's team, which finished last season as the national runner-up, begins this season ranked No. 2 in the USTFCCCA women's poll.

The Blue Tiger men, coming off a third-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Division II national championships, received 176.25 in this season's initial computer rankings. They are the only MIAA ranked in the top five, with Central Missouri (eighth with 79.23 points) being the only other league team ranked in the top 25.

Lincoln returns six runners who scored points at last year's NCAA Division II Men's Inddor National Championships, including Terrel Cotton, the defending 200-meter champion. Additionally, the Blue Tigers' Romel Lewis currently has the country's best time the 60-meter dash this season, clocking in at 6.67 at Iowa State's Holiday Preview on Dec. 9.

The Blue Tigers received 46.97 points in the ranking system than Saint Augustine's which was picked second with 129.28 points. Adams State (124.29) was ranked third while Ashland (121.53) and Grand Canyon (115.41) round out the top five.

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