Dawgs boosted onto USTFCCCA top 25 by top performances at Mt. SAC & Bryan Clay...
NEW ORLEANS--Both University of Washington squads are in the USTFCCCA Division I top 25 for the first time this outdoor season after competing in Southern California last week.
The Washington women check in at number 11, up five spots from last week, while the Husky men's team enters the national top 25 for the first time at number 20.
Washington was boosted by the return of Irish Olympian Sophie O'Sullivan (Paul Merca photo), who only had outdoor eligibility remaining.
In her first meet after returning from Australia where she trained and competed in the summer circuit and the world indoor championships in China, O'Sullivan ran a 2:00.61/4:08.69 800/1500 double at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa. Those marks rank numbers 7 and 9, respectively.
Other top 20 marks over the weekend came from Chloe Foerster, who ran 4:05.75 to win the 1500 at Bryan Clay, which is number 2 in the country; a 4:12.35 by Maggie Liebich in the 1500 for the number 20 mark in the country; and heptathlete Sofia Cosculluela's 5817 score at the Mt. SAC Relays, which stands as the number 4 mark this season.
The nation's top five D1 women's teams are in order: Georgia, USC, Texas A&M, Arkansas, and South Carolina.
Other Big Ten teams in the top 25 include number 14 Illinois, number 16 Oregon, number 18 UCLA, and number 19 Nebraska.
The Husky men got top 20 performances from Kyle Reinheimer in the 800 (1:46.09/#7); Nathan Green (3:35.52/#4), Ronan McMahon-Staggs (3:38.23/#17), and Rhys Hammond (3:38.24/#18) in the 1500 at Bryan Clay; and Jami Schlueter's decathlon score of 7562, the number 18 score, at Mt. SAC.
The top five men's teams in D1 are in order: USC, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Georgia, and Minnesota.
Other Big Ten teams include number 9 Nebraska, and number 23 Iowa.
DIVISION II RANKINGS...
In Division II, both the Central and Western Washington women's teams remain in the USTFCCCA national top 25, though both squads dropped down.
Central Washington, which was at number 11 last week, dropped to number 15, while Western Washington dropped six to number 23.
The Wildcats stayed at home last weekend and hosted the Central Washington Invitational, but did not post any top-20 marks, due in part to the windy conditions.
The Vikings ran a split squad last weekend between meets in Southern California and the Central Washington Invitational.
Australian world championships relay competitor Bec Bennett ran 53.78 in the 400 at the Bryan Clay Invitational for the number 9 time in D2, and also helped the Viking 4 x 400 relay run 3:40.37, the number 11 time in the country.
Back in Ellensburg, Jessica Polkinghorn popped a big throw of 50-8.25 (15.45m) in the shot put, which puts her at number 5 on the Division II descending order list.
The top five women's teams in D2 are in order: West Texas A&M, Grand Valley State, Pittsburg State, Adams State, and Azusa Pacific.
Central and Western are the only GNAC teams in the top 25.
Despite top 20 marks at the Bryan Clay Invitational from Maurice Woodring in the 400 hurdles, Kevin McDermott in the 5000, Jared Alderfer in the steeplechase, and the 4 x 400 relay, it was not enough to keep the Western Washington men in the top 25, as they dropped from number 24 to 29.
West Texas A&M, Pittsburg State, Wingate, Grand Valley State, and Missouri Southern are the nation's top five D2 teams.
No GNAC teams are in the national top 25 this week.
USATF ROAD MILE CHAMPIONSHIPS TUESDAY EVENING...
In conjunction with the annual Drake Relays meet, the USATF One Mile road race championships happens Tuesday night on the streets of Des Moines, Iowa.
The field will be competing for a $10000 first prize as well as a spot on the USA road mile team for the World Athletics Road Running championships later on this year.
In the women's race, Washington alum Eleanor Fulton is entered, while in the men's race, two time champion Sam Prakel of Seattle will race a field that includes training partner and Washington alum Sam Ellis, along with defending champion Vince Ciattei.
USATF.tv ($) will stream the race live, with the women's race starting at 5:15 pm Pacific, and the men's race starting 15 minutes later.
The start list is available here, while the link to live results is here.
NOTE: The sports information offices of the University of Washington, along with Drake University, USATF and USTFCCCA contributed to this report.
paulmerca.blogspot.com may receive a commission for any purchases made from links clicked. Please support this site and our sponsors by clicking on the links. You can also support the site by clicking the yellow "Buy Me A Coffee" link below.
Comments