Lake Erie Jumps Four Places, Ashland, Grand Valley, and Findlay Remain in the Men's USTFCCCA Top 25

Release courtesy of Tom Lewis USTFCCCA Communications Manager

NEW ORLEANS –  The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announces the association’s week eight, pre-NCAA Championships National Team Computer Rankings for the 2011 outdoor track & field season in NCAA Division II. Once again, Abilene Christian’s men head the team rankings heading into the NCAA Division II Championships. Rankings for this week were compiled using data from only those who declared and were accepted into the championships’ field.

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is ranked as the fourth best conference in Division-II and has four teams ranked in the top 25; Ashland University stayed at No. 8, Lake Erie College moved up four spots to No. 13, Grand Valley State University dropped three places to No. 16, and Findlay moved down one places to No. 20.

The NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships will take place Thursday thru Saturday, May 26-28, in Turlock, Calif., home to Cal State Stanislaus. NCAA.com will air live coverage.

National Championships Central

Click here for the release on the USTFCCA website

Dropped Out:  No. 24 Indianapolis

About the Rankings
For more on the rankings and links to guideline and rationale information visit…http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-ii-rankings

The purpose and methodology of the national team computer rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national-title race – not as a method to compare teams head-to-head.

The Regional Index is determined using a similar method as national rankings, but on a smaller scale, comparing teams versus others within the same region. The result is a ranking that showcases squads with better all-around team potential — a group makeup critical for conference or similar team-scored events. A team may achieve a better regional ranking than a counterpart that has a better national ranking. Historically, some teams are better national-championship teams than conference-championship teams, having a few elite athletes that score very well in a diverse environment where teams do not have entries in more than a few events. Some teams are better at conference championships or similar team-scored events where they enter, and are competitive, in many of the events.

How a team fares in a national championship, conference championship, or scored meet with only a couple or few teams (like a dual or triangular) can be very different, given the number of events, competition, scoring, and makeup of entries — thus the rationale behind each of the ranking systems. Similar arguments about team makeup and rankings can also be found in swimming & diving and wrestling as their sports also have a similar trichotomy when it comes to team theory.