NEW ORLEANS, La. – After a month of sitting just inside the top 50 of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) women's Division II preseason rankings, the Greyhound women's track & field team skyrocketed up 44 spots on Tuesday's Week 1 rankings. The program's first-ever top-five ranking comes at fifth place overall, the highest within the Great Lakes Valley Conference currently as well.
UIndy's boost can be attributed heavily to the distance crew, as both
Lauren Bailey and
Berenice Cleyet-Merle rank within the top five individually in two events each. Cleyet-Merle currently owns the fastest time in Division II in the mile, where Bailey hails as the current runner-up in the women's 5000. They both rank fourth in another set of events, Bailey in the 3000 and Cleyet-Merle in the 800.
The Greyhounds currently are the second-highest ranked team from the Midwest Region in the National Rankings, as GVSU sits at the top as the number one team in the nation. The Midwest is also represented by Tiffin (sixth), Southwest Baptist (seventh) and Saginaw Valley State (14th). Southern Indiana (22nd) sits as the only other team in the top 25 from the GLVC.
The UIndy track & field teams will be back in action this weekend for the Greyhound Invitational, a one-day meet in the ARC. The event will be on Saturday, Feb. 1 and commence at 12 p.m. The next USTFCCCA ranking is scheduled to be released on Monday, Feb. 3.
Below is a list of the entire top-25 rankings:
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| WOMEN'S POLL |
LAST WEEK |
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| 1. |
Grand Valley State  |
1 |
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| 2. |
Lincoln (Mo.) |
2 |
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| 3. |
Northwest Missouri |
14 |
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| 4. |
Minnesota State |
13 |
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| 5. |
Indianapolis |
49 |
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| 6. |
Tiffin |
21 |
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| 7. |
Southwest Baptist |
10 |
` |
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| 8. |
Adams State |
3 |
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| 9. |
Lee (Tenn.) |
52 |
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| 10. |
Azusa Pacific |
8 |
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| 11. |
West Texas A&M |
4 |
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| 12. |
Simon Fraser |
12 |
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| 13. |
Missouri Southern |
5 |
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| 14. |
Saginaw Valley State |
24 |
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| 15. |
Pittsburg State |
7 |
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| 16. |
U-Mary |
15 |
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| 17. |
UC-Colorado Springs |
11 |
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| 18. |
American International |
68 |
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| 19. |
CSU-Pueblo |
30 |
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| 20. |
Central Missouri |
16 |
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| 21. |
West Chester |
26 |
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| 22. |
Southern Indiana |
NR |
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| 23. |
Colorado Mesa |
80 |
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| 24. |
Central State |
NR |
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| 25. |
Western Colorado |
18 |
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