Amina Maatoug & Chloe Foerster help Dawgs move up one spot in USTFCCCA rankings...
NEW ORLEANS--With conference championship weekend and the final days to qualify for the NCAA championships coming up, the Washington women's team moved up one spot to number eight in the latest USTFCCCA Division I indoor track and field rating index, released Tuesday.
The Huskies were powered by two top-ten performances by Amina Maatoug (Paul Merca photo) and Chloe Foerster, who ran 4:26.59, and 4:26.54, respectively, at the Boston University Terrier DMR Challenge Friday in Boston.
Those two were the two fastest times in Washington school history, eclipsing the old school record of 4:28.14, set by Foerster last year.
The nation's top five women's teams are in order: Arkansas, BYU, Oregon, Texas Tech, and Illinois.
Other Big Ten schools in the top 25 include number 11 USC, and number 14 Nebraska.
On the men's side, the Huskies, who did not send any individuals to compete last weekend in Boston, slid two spots to number six.
The nation's top five men's teams are, in order: Arkansas, USC, North Carolina, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.
Other Big Ten schools in the national top 25 include number 10 Illinois, number 13 Penn State, number 18 Nebraska, number 22 Iowa, and number 24 Wisconsin.
DIVISION II...
In Division II, Central Washington, which finished second at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship last week in Spokane, dropped two spots in the national rankings to number 12.
Simon Fraser, which finished third at the conference championship meet, is the only other GNAC team in the women's top 25, checking in at number 15.
The Wildcats got a top ten mark at the conference meet from pole vaulter Lauryn McGough, whose winning mark of 13-4.5 (4.08m) currently ranks at number 10 on the Division II descending order list.
The nation's top five women's teams are in order: Minnesota State, Grand Valley State, Pittsburg State, Adams State, and Azusa Pacific.
Alaska Anchorage is the only men's team from the GNAC ranked in the national top 25, coming in at number 16.
The national men's top 25 are in order: Pittsburg State, Grand Valley State, West Texas A&M, Colorado School of Mines, and Wingate.
Central Washington, which finished second at the GNACs to Western Washington, is the closest Washington school to the top 25 at number 32.
PRO NOTES...
In an article written by Jonathan Gault of letsrun.com, Hobbs Kessler, who won the USA indoor championships in the 1500 Sunday, will decline his spot to go to Nanjing, China for the world indoor track and field championships
Seattle resident Sam Prakel, who was second, and Washington alum Luke Houser, who was third at the national championships, are the first two in line to go to Nanjing.
That said, none of the other finalists that ran the men's 1500 in Staten Island have the qualifying time of 3:33.50 (3:50.50 mile) to go to Nanjing.
Washington alum Joe Waskom is the only one of the twelve finalists at the USA championships who is in the Road to Nanjing rankings at number 24.
There's a last chance meet being set up in Boston at Boston University on March 2nd. There's also two meets listed at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island on February 28th and March 1st, plus a meet in Philadelphia on March 1st, according to the World Athletics calendar.
If no one who ran at nationals either hits the standard or runs fast enough to place themselves on the Road to Nanjing top 30, Waskom is potentially the only US representative eligible to go to world indoors.
Here's a post-race interview with Houser posted by letsrun.com, where he briefly states his exit from the Brooks Beasts.
“Looking back, I’m definitely happy about making the change in situations because I can see it wasn’t going to fit,” Houser said.
NOTE: The USTFCCCA, USA Track & Field, World Athletics, and letsrun.com contributed to this report.
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