Release Courtsey of Tom Lewis: U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Communications Manager
NEW ORLEANS – The Grand Canyon men’s team is the early favorite to claim an NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, according to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason computer projections, which are based largely on the top returners from each school and early performances from this season.
Click here for the release on the USTFCCCA website
The Grand Canyon men begin 2013 exactly where they finished the 2012 indoor season: on top. The Antelopes defeated Adams State, ranked second in the projections, 54-47 to claim a national team championship in just their second year of DII competition. Grand Canyon will make the move to DI next season, and will look to go out in style with a second straight national championship.
Defending long jump national champion junior Karlin Stewart returns to lead a team that returns 41 of its 54 points from the 2012 indoor championships. Junior AAron Hill is the top-ranked returning long jumper in the nation from 2012, and junior Fred Taylor tops the national list of returners in the 200 meters.
Adams State most recently won an indoor national championship in 2010. Sophomore Boris Berrian, the 2012 800 indoor NCAA Champion, is the top returner for the Grizzlies, who also lost 2012 mile NCAA Champion Drew Graham to graduation. Adams State’s roster includes five of the national top 10 returning milers from 2012, and three of the top ten returning 5,000 meters runners. Of their 47 points from the 2012 NCAA DII Indoor Championships, 25 will be returning for 2013.
The first regular-season edition of the USTFCCCA rankings will be released January 22. The NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships are set for March 7-9 at the CrossPlex Complex in Birmingham, Ala.
|
Men's Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer
Rankings (Top25) |
|||||
|
Rank |
School |
Points |
Conference |
Head Coach (Yr) |
2012 FINAL |
|
1 |
Grand Canyon |
198.34 |
PacWest |
Tom Flood (3rd) |
1 |
|
2 |
Adams State |
158.75 |
RMAC |
Damon Martin (18th) |
2 |
|
3 |
Ashland |
136.59 |
GLIAC |
Jud Logan (10th) |
7 |
|
4 |
UMass Lowell |
114.31 |
Northeast-10 |
Gary Gardner (11th) |
9 |
|
5 |
American International |
111.19 |
Northeast-10 |
Leo Mayo (7th) |
10 |
|
6 |
Saint Augustine’s |
109.25 |
CIAA |
George Williams (37th) |
5 |
|
7 |
Minnesota State |
92.56 |
NSIC |
Mark Schuck (31st) |
16 |
|
8 |
Lincoln (Mo.) |
91.75 |
MIAA |
Victor Thomas (12th) |
10 |
|
9 |
Southern Connecticut |
85.99 |
Northeast-10 |
John Wallin (3rd) |
3 |
|
10 |
Central Missouri |
83.07 |
MIAA |
Kirk Pedersen (17th)/Kip Janvrin (15th) |
6 |
|
11 |
Indianapolis |
75.82 |
GLVC |
Scott Fangman (16th) |
8 |
|
12 |
MSU Moorhead |
67.93 |
NSIC |
Keith Barnier (11th) |
26 |
|
13 |
Missouri Southern |
66.63 |
MIAA |
Tom Rutledge (24th) |
40 |
|
14 |
Western State |
63.13 |
RMAC |
Chris Bradford (4th) |
17 |
|
15 |
Johnson C. Smith |
57.88 |
CIAA |
Lennox Graham (6th) |
12 |
|
16 |
Grand Valley State |
57.77 |
GLIAC |
Jerry Baltes (14th) |
22 |
|
17 |
Emporia State |
55.34 |
MIAA |
Steve Blocker (2nd) |
26 |
|
18 |
Augustana (S.D.) |
48.00 |
NSIC |
Tracy Hellman (13th) |
22 |
|
19 |
Pittsburg State |
47.42 |
MIAA |
Russ Jewett (25th) |
18 |
|
20 |
Findlay |
46.33 |
GLIAC |
Marc Arce (25th) |
4 |
|
21 |
Stonehill |
44.59 |
Northeast-10 |
Karen Boen (15th) |
25 |
|
22 |
Hillsdale |
41.72 |
GLIAC |
Jeff Forino (2nd) |
31 |
|
23 |
Abilene Christian |
40.22 |
Lone Star |
Roosevelt Lofton (4th) |
20 |
|
24 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
39.80 |
Lone Star |
Ryan Dall (5th) |
14 |
|
25 |
Shippensburg |
38.59 |
PSAC |
Dave Osanitsch (8th) |
22 |
|
Men’s Conference Index Top 10 |
|||
|
Rank |
Conference |
Points |
Top 25 Teams |
|
1 |
MIAA |
399.23 |
5 |
|
2 |
Northeast-10 |
395.93 |
4 |
|
3 |
GLIAC |
367.90 |
4 |
|
4 |
RMAC |
319.24 |
2 |
|
5 |
CIAA |
230.83 |
2 |
|
6 |
NSIC |
225.73 |
3 |
|
7 |
PacWest |
203.46 |
1 |
|
8 |
GLVC |
112.74 |
1 |
|
9 |
Lone Star |
105.98 |
2 |
|
10 |
PSAC |
81.89 |
1 |