FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Complete Rankings
Mar. 4, 2010-- The North Central College women's track & field team jumps up one spot to 12th in the seventh installment of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division III National Team Rankings, released Thursday.
The Cardinals' amassed 48.44 points in this week's rankings, climbing one spot in the rankings. Wartburg College (Iowa) retains its position as the top ranked squad, garnering 144.86 points followed closely by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (127.53 points). Illinois Wesleyan University (96.31 points) drops one spot in the rankings to third despite winning its third consecutive College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin indoor title and is followed closely by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (92.47 points) and The College of New Jersey (92.41 points). CCIW-rival Carthage College joins North Central and IWU in the rankings this week, cracking the top 25 after jumping up 13 spots to 21st with 36.74 points.
This is the first year that the USTFCCCA has utilized its new formula for compiling rankings, which utilizes the NCAA Division III Indoor National performance list and assigns points to up to 30 athletes in each event. The purpose of the rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of excelling at the national championships.
North Central finished second at last weekend's CCIW Indoor Championships hosted at the Al B. Carius Track, recording three event wins while six athletes hit provisional qualifying marks in their respective events.
Rachel Secrest won the pole vault for the second straight season, vaulting 12 feet 1 1/2 inches while
Michelle Criscione captured the high jump crown for the third consecutive season, clearing 5'5 1/4".
Amanda Laesch claimed the Cardinals' lone event win on the track, crossing the finish line in 10:27.04 to win the 3,000-meter run.
The Cardinals will send a small contingent to Stevens Point, Wis. this Saturday for the Pointer Last Chance Meet.
