Grand Valley State, Ashland, Findlay All Remain in the Women'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, Grand Valley State’s women 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.

Top-ranked Grand Valley State will look to repeat their accomplishment from the 2011 indoor season – win an NCAA team title for the first time. GVSU, winners of the 2010 NCAA cross country and 2011 NCAA indoor track & field national crowns, hopes to sweep the board with an outdoor crown. The Lakers have been a strong top-ranked team since the preseason, and, with a meet-high 25 entries, GVSU will have a good chance of backing up the claims. GVSU has a meet-high 14 entries in the middle- and long-distance events to go with a tied-meet-high seven entries in throwing events. The Lakers have top-ranked entries in the 1500 meters (Katherine McCarthy) and hammer throw (Liz Murphy). GVSU has five entries in the steeplechase, four in the 1500 meters, three in 5000 meters, and three in the pole vault and hammer throw – among others.

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conferenc (GLIAC) again shows the strength of the conference by being voted the second strongest women's outdoor track league in Division II. Grand Valley State University is again at the top of the USTFCCCA poll, Ashland University follows close behind again at No. 7, and the University Findlay is No. 25.

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: none

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.