Falcons rocket to #16 in latest USTFCCCA rankings index after strong GNAC performance...

NEW ORLEANS—Thanks to top 5 performances at last week’s Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship by pentathlete Scout Rai and long jumper Peace Igbonagwam (left/photo courtesy Seattle Pacific), the Seattle Pacific women’s track team rocketed 58 spots all the way up to #16 in the latest USTFCCCA Division II National Track & Field Rating Index, released Tuesday.

Igbonagwam jumped 19-7.5 (5.98m) to win the conference title and in the process, moved to number 5 on the NCAA Division II performance list.

Meanwhile, Cai’s win in the pentathlon with a score of 3815 points made her the Division II national leader, just short of the 3829 points needed to earn an automatic berth in the national championship.

Meanwhile, GNAC women’s runner-up Central Washington dropped out of the top 25, coming in at number 26 in the latest ranking index, led by pentathlete HarLee Ortega, who is ranked number 5 in the country, and pole vaulter Halle Irvine, who is ranked number 8.

The nation’s top five women’s teams in Division II are in order: Adams State, Grand Valley State, Lincoln/Missouri, San Francisco State, and West Texas A&M.

GNAC schools ranked in the top 25 include #6 Alaska Anchorage, and #12 Simon Fraser.

No schools from the GNAC are ranked in the top 25 men’s teams. The top ranked school in the conference is Central Washington at #35.

Adams State, Ashland, Grand Valley State, Tiffin, and Colorado School of Mines are the nation’s top five Division II schools.

The USTFCCCA release is available here.

All four Washington Division II will compete Saturday at the Seattle Pacific Last Chance meet at the Dempsey Indoor at the University of Washington beginning at 5:15 pm.

NOTE:  The USTFCCCA contributed to this report.